Obama Ramallah visit irks Palestinians

Palestinians have staged a large protest rally during a visit by US President Barack Obama to the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Press TV reports.

On Thursday, Palestinians took to the streets of Ramallah and voiced their outrage at Obama over his all-out support for the occupying Israeli regime.

The protesters also expressed anger at the US president for downplaying the stop of illegal settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories as a factor for the so-called peace talks.

“We are here to send our clear message to American President Barack Obama that the Palestinian people are more determined to achieve the goal of building their own independent state in the Palestinian territories,” said Osama Baker, a Palestinian activist.

“We want to say clearly that we refuse all the pressure that the United States is putting on the Palestinians’ shoulders,” he added.

In a similar move, Palestinian activists also set up a protest camp on the controversial E1 area near al-Quds (Jerusalem) where the Israeli regime intends to build thousands of illegal settler homes.

On Thursday, the visiting US president held talks with acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

During his visit, Obama said the Tel Aviv regime’s occupation of the West Bank must end and that he is “deeply committed” to the creation of a state of Palestine.

The US president also described Israeli settlement activities as a major obstacle to peace between the two sides. However, he stopped short of calling for a settlement construction freeze.

The Israeli settlements are considered illegal by much of the international community. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the settlement construction is part of Tel Aviv’s policy and will not stop.