In press comments issued on Sunday, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Benjamin Netanyahu’s party’s plan to annex the West Bank reveals that US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize the city of al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel has encouraged the Zionist regime of Israel to implement its racist polices.
The Hamas official also stressed that the Palestinian nation’s move to press ahead with Intifada and strengthen resistance to the Israeli occupation will thwart all Zionist plots.
Qassem then called on the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to make a proper decision in reaction to the Israeli plans for expansion of settlements, bow out of the peace process, stop security arrangements with Israel and reinforce Palestine’s internal front.
On Sunday, the Likud party voted for a resolution that calls on its leaders to move to formally annex the West Bank.
The controversial move follows weeks of protests in the Palestinian territories against Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem capital of Israel. The announcement has drawn global condemnation and prompted a series of protests in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.
Fifteen people have died, and at least 2,900 others have been injured since Trump's announcement was made, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
At least 500 people have been arrested, including Fatah leaders in al-Quds.