Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Wednesday will hold widespread protests to mark Nakba Day, the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation in 1948 and the displacement of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians in the ensuing war initiated by seven Arab armies. Hamas has called for a general strike in Gaza that will include closing schools and businesses. The enclave’s rulers have also encouraged civilians to demonstrate along the border with Israel, which, based on precedence, raises the prospect of clashes. (Notably, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip has placed medical teams on high alert.) In the West Bank, a commemorative siren blared at 11:00 a.m. ahead of a planned march from the presidential compound to the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, where violence has erupted in the past. In advance, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh asserted that Israel “is waging a war of geography on us by confiscating our land on a daily basis.” He added that the United States, in conjunction with Jerusalem, was attempting to choke the PA financially in order to blackmail Ramallah into accepting the White House’s soon-to-be-released peace plan. A statement from PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction noted that Nakba Day served as a reminder for Palestinians to “uphold their principles and legitimate rights, including the right of return, self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.”
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