National and Islamic Forces warn “every party, institution, and person… against participating in any way” in event organized by US embassy
Headline: “The [Palestinian National and Islamic] Forces emphasize their determination to thwart the conference to which the American embassy has sent invitations in Ramallah”
“The [Palestinian] National [and Islamic] Forces in the Ramallah and El-Bireh district emphasized their determination to thwart the conference in Ramallah, to which the American embassy in Jerusalem has sent invitations for this Wednesday [Aug. 21, 2019] in Ramallah under the title ‘the [US] Palestinian Affairs Unit.’
The forces said in a press release that they published yesterday [Aug. 18, 2019] in Ramallah: ‘In this suspicious invitation there are new characteristics of an American role that has become more and more aggressive in the attempt to break the Palestinian people’s determination and create a fact on the ground in the framework of “the deal of the century” (i.e., refers to US President Donald Trump’s as yet unpublished Middle East peace plan). [This is also] blatant disregard for all of the values, all of the standards, and the international relations.’
The forces described the American invitation as ‘insolent and disgusting.’ They warned every party, institution, and person… against participating [in the conference] in any way.’
The forces also emphasized that they have taken ‘many steps to deal with this dangerous tendency of the American administration, which is determined to deepen its hostility towards our people as part of its full partnership with the occupation in terror and its crimes against our people.’ They added: ‘Among these steps are an attempt to contact the management of the hotel itself in order to prevent the activity from being held there, and organizing mass-participant popular activity in front of the hotel in order to prevent this activity by all available means.’
The forces called on our people to participate in their masses in the sit-in strike in front of the hotel… in order to fight this dangerous conference, which is taking place as part of the pressures that are being exerted on our people and the leadership to accept the status quo.”
Palestinian National and Islamic Forces - an unaffiliated coordinating body comprised of representatives from factions in the PLO and outside the PLO. The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces were established in 2000 shortly after the start of the PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005), under the authorization of Yasser Arafat and the leadership of terrorist Marwan Barghouti. During the PA terror campaign it played an active role in coordinating political efforts and terror attacks against Israel, but since the end of the campaign it has been less significant and its activity is primarily centered in Gaza.