Palestinians rally against Trump's MidEast plan

Thousands of Palestinians rallied Tuesday in the West Bank to reject President Donald Trump's Mideast initiative and to express support for the Palestinian leadership as it tries to gain support at the United Nations for a resolution opposing the plan.

Protesters packed Al-Manara Square in Ramallah, the West Bank headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.

They waved Palestinian flags and held banners condemning the plan.

Some protesters held an English-language banners read "Trump is part of the problem not the solution," while another condemned the "theft of the century."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to deliver a speech at the UN later Tuesday, but members will not be voting on a draft resolution.

Palestinian officials denied the resolution had been pulled, but diplomats said many members, including European countries, rejected the language in a draft that had circulated.

Trump's Mideast plan, announced at the White House on January 28, sides with Israel on virtually all of the most contentious issues of the decades-old conflict.

It would allow Israel to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, including Jewish settlements that are home to hundreds of thousands of people and are considered illegal by most of the international community.

The Palestinians, who cut off ties with the US after Trump recognised disputed Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, have adamantly rejected the plan.

The European Union issued a statement last week reiterating its support for a two-state solution based on the 1967 lines.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories Israel seized in a war with Arab countries a half-century ago.