In anticipation of the ceremony today marking the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem, which has been condemned by the Palestinian Authority, the official Facebook page of Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Party posted the above photoshopped image of U.S. President Donald Trump being “arrested” on the Temple Mount by soldiers of “Palestine.” [Official Fatah Facebook page, May 13, 2018]
Palestinian Media Watch has reported extensively on the P.A. and Fatah’s condemnation of the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the embassy move.
Another image posted by Fatah is a drawing of Palestinians responding with violence and protests surrounding Jerusalem.
Posted text: “#Jerusalem_is_the_capital_of_the_State_of_Palestine”
Text on image: “Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 13, 2018]
The image shows a woman wearing a hijab (religious headscarf), the lower part of which extends to form a wall. Above the wall are buildings and the Dome of the Rock. To the left of the Dome of the Rock are two masked Palestinian rioters wearing keffiyehs (Arab headdresses) and using slingshots, and to the right birds are seen flying. A keffiyeh pattern and Palestinian flag are seen in the background. At the bottom is the outline of masses of people demonstrating and waving Palestinian flags.
There have been widespread condemnations and threats of violence by the PA and Fatah because of the American embassy move. The official P.A. daily wrote that Palestinians are planning activities of “rage” in response to the move. [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 11, 2018]
The Palestinian National Council announced that the establishment of an American embassy in Jerusalem means that the agreements signed between Israel and the P.A. are no longer valid. In addition the PLO called for the end of recognition of Israel:
Headline: “The [Palestinian] National Council: The transitional period (i.e., the Oslo Accords) and all of the obligations it included are no longer valid”
“The Palestinian National Council (i.e., the legislative council) … emphasized its condemnation and rejection of American President Donald Trump’s illegal declaration that considers Jerusalem Israel’s capital, and of the transfer of his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and also emphasized that it will act to cancel this decision.
The full report can be read at PMW here.