The protests were organized by three factions of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the People’s Party on Saturday.

The demonstrators shouted slogans denouncing Kerry’s proposals and warned the PA leadership against accepting them. The participants called on PA acting President Mahmoud Abbas to reject Kerry’s proposals and also urged Palestinians to resort to “all forms of resistance” against Israel.

Mohamed Dweikat, a senior official with the DFLP, said Kerry’s proposals are aimed at “liquidating” the Palestinian issue, especially the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees.

Dweikat also claimed that the proposals would “consolidate settlement in the West Bank.”

Badran Jaber, one of the organizers of the al-Khalil protest, said, “We reject the Kerry plan because it is designed to liquidate the Palestinian cause. It is also aimed at Judaizing al-Quds, increasing settlement in the Jordan Valley and denying the right of return for refugees.”

In a related development, Hamas called on the PA leadership to pull out of the peace talks with Israel.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Kerry’s plan for peace was primarily aimed at eliminating the Palestinian issue.

Hamas official Ezat al-Risheq also warned the PA leadership against accepting Kerry’s proposals, saying they were biased in favor of Israel.

“The US administration was never an honest broker,” Risheq warned.

The United Nations and most countries around the world regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.

Israel has systematically denied the rights of Palestinian people and forced them to abandon their lands.

NTJ/HH