The Palestinian Authority’s leading Fatah faction, also led by Mahmoud Abbas, has declared a general strike in PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria for Tuesday to protest U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s scheduled visit on Tuesday afternoon to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Palestinian Authority citizens are also being urged by Fatah to create disturbances near “friction points” with Israeli military forces and other Israeli security personnel.
This comes on the same day that Abbas reiterated his commitment to fighting racism, violence, and extremism, on a local, regional and international level despite any obstacles that might get in the way of a political solution, during a keynote speech to the European Union’s 28 foreign ministers in Brussels, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official WAFA news agency.
Abbas called the EU “a true peace partner in the region,” calling on the EU countries to recognize the “state of Palestine,” a step which he claimed would not be an obstacle before peace negotiations.
“This would encourage the Palestinian people to keep hoping for peace and to wait until peace is brought about,” he said. Abbas also said the Palestinian Authority would “continue complying with the treaties that we signed,” and called on Israel “to do the same.”
The strike encouraged by the Fatah faction — headed by Abbas — will reportedly include the entire Palestinian Authority public sector with the exception of its health services, according to Ynet.
Terrorists in the Palestinian Authority — and proxy terror groups acting on behalf of Iran — often attempt to seize the opportunity to launch attacks against Israelis under such circumstances.