Barghouti warns of mass protests if U.S. vetoes statehood bid; PA concerned over U.S. threat to cut aid.
Arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life terms in an Israeli prison for his role in terror murders, warned on Thursday that a United States veto of an attempt by the Palestinian Authority to get United Nations recognition for a unilaterally-declared state will not only cause disturbances in the PA, but also mass protests elsewhere in the Arab world that would bring an end to the U.S. role in the region.
Barghouti recently wrote from his jail cell an appeal for ‘millions’ of Palestinian Authority Arabs to march in September to show support for the unilateral declaration.
He was later placed in solitary confinement after a cellular phone was found in his prison cell during a routine patrol by the Israeli Prison Service.
His latest warnings come after the U.S. said it would veto the any attempt by the PA to achieve statehood unilaterally. They also come on the heels of a recent resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives which backs the suspension of funds to the Palestinian Authority should it continue to pursue its bid for unilateral declaration of statehood.
The PA is reportedly concerned that the U.S. may follow through on this threat and cut the aid, an act which would deepen the financial crisis in the PA. This would likely mean the PA would have to ask the European Union for another bailout.
A report this week in the PA-based Qudsnet agency cited sources in the PA who said that PA leadership may choose to postpone the statehood bid out of fear the U.S. would cut its aid.
Saeb Erakat, who is a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, denied this report, saying they are baseless.
