Palestinians rap U.S. Secretary’s West Bank tour

Palestinians rap U.S. Secretary’s West Bank tour
Fri May 24, 2013 21:00:01

Palestinians have condemned US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the occupied West Bank in a protest rally held in the city of Ramallah.

The protesters took to the streets on Thursday and staged a demonstration a few kilometers from where Kerry was meeting with Acting Palestinian Authority (PA) Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

 

The demonstrators voiced their distrust toward the United States and what Washington and its Western allies call the Middle East peace process. They also condemned US military support for Israeli regime.

 

The protesters shouted anti-US slogans and carried placards denouncing Washington's support for the Israeli occupation and its crimes against the Palestinian people. “Kerry, we don’t trust you and America,” one placard read.

 

Kerry’s meeting with Abbas, hours after his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in al-Quds (Jerusalem), comes on the first leg of his new Middle East tour that aims to revive stalled talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

 

The Palestinians are highly skeptical of the US role in the Middle East, saying Washington is not an impartial peace broker.

 

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is also visiting the region, held talks with Israel's chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni, and was due to hold talks with Netanyahu and Abbas later in the day.

 

Direct PA-Israel talks broke down in late 2008 after Israel’s continued settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank, especially in East al-Quds, prompted the Palestinian side to leave the negotiating table.

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