RAMALLAH, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Palestinians on Tuesday held protests in several West Bank cities against the remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Israeli settlements.
The protests were called for by various Palestinian political factions, which declared Tuesday as a "Day of Rage," to protest Pompeo's recent announcement that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories of West Bank is not inconsistent with international law.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye, who joined a big rally in Ramallah city, condemned the U.S. position and described it as "unilateral acts that have been taken against the will of our people and against their aspirations."
"With every single Palestinian voice that has been gathered today is to make our voice loud and clear that we totally reject the U.S. declaration that has to do with the illegal settlement, with the colonization of the Palestinian territory," he told reporters.
Mahmoud Aloul, deputy chairman of the ruling Fatah movement headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the "Day of Rage" is for the Palestinians to voice their outrage.
"There are political movements on all levels: the UN Security Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ... and along with this, the situation on the ground must also be on a par, and therefore we called for this 'Day of Rage,'" Aloul told Xinhua.
Hundreds of Palestinians marched from Ramallah city center toward the Israeli military checkpoint of Beit El settlements in north of the city, where clashes broke out with Israeli soldiers, who opened fire and threw tear gas canisters at the protesters.
Medical sources said two protesters were injured in the leg and rushed to a hospital in Ramallah.
Similar clashes took place in north of Hebron and Bethlehem, as well as other Palestinians villages in northern West Bank.
The Palestinians were outraged after Pompeo announced on Nov. 18 that the U.S. government will no longer consider Israel's West Bank settlements "inconsistent" with international law, a move that has further dimmed the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Pompeo said that the decision, which reversed the previous U.S. administrations' position on the Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, was made based on the "reality on the ground."
Israeli settlement activity is considered illegal under international law and believed to be one of the major issues that have stalled the peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis since 2014.
According to the latest Palestinian data, around 400,000 Israelis live in 135 settlements and 100 illegal outposts in the West Bank, where the Palestinian population has reached 2.6 million.
