Palestinian protesters condemn Kerry’s visit to West Bank

Palestinians have held a rally in the city of Ramallah to condemn the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the occupied West Bank.

The protesters took to the streets on Thursday and staged a demonstration a few kilometers from where Kerry met with Acting Palestinian Authority (PA) Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

The demonstrators voiced their distrust toward the United States and what Washington and its Western allies call the Middle East peace process. They also condemned US military support for Israel.

The protesters shouted anti-US slogans and carried placards denouncing Washington’s support for the Israeli occupation and its crimes against the Palestinian people. “Kerry, we don’t trust you and America,” one palacard read.

Kerry’s meeting with Abbas, hours after his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in al-Quds (Jerusalem), comes on the first leg of his new Middle East tour that aims to revive stalled talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The Palestinians are highly skeptical of the US role in the Middle East, saying Washington is not an impartial peace broker.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is also visiting the region, held talks with Israel’s chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni, and was due to hold talks with Netanyahu and Abbas later in the day.

Direct PA-Israel talks broke down in late 2008 after Israel’s continued settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank, especially in East al-Quds, prompted the Palestinian side to leave the negotiating table.

Last week, Tel Aviv’s legalization of four outposts in the occupied West Bank drew a rare response from an irked Kerry, who personally phoned the Israeli ambassador to Washington to demand explanation over the decision.