Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is once again playing a two-faced game with an American leader — this time, with President Donald Trump.
The Palestinian Islamic and National Forces (PINF) organization has issued a call for a “Day of Rage” to be held on Tuesday when Trump arrives in Bethlehem to meet with Abbas. The call to action was issued together with other factions in Judea and Samaria, reportedly to send a message to the U.S. president that “the Palestinian people insist on their right to self-determination and national independence with east Jerusalem as its sovereign capital…. “The U.S. position supporting the occupation” and the U.S. “intention to return to American-sponsored negotiations” is unacceptable, the statement said.
The PINF was formed shortly after the start of the second intifada around the year 2000, led by Marwan Barghouti, who headed the Tanzim terrorist group, and authorized by Palestinian Authority and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. It is a coalition comprised of delegates from more than a dozen terrorist organization operating from within the Palestinian Authority territories, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and numerous others.
The group has been somewhat less active since Abbas was elected to office in 2005, and its main activities these days are focused on planning and executing joint political actions against Israel.
Calling for a “Day of Rage” to send a message to Trump, however, is a step beyond politics and rather, a call for violence that might threaten the life of the president of the United States or a member of his entourage, by a group directly operating with Abbas’ authorization.
Will anyone on the Trump Team notice?