RAMALLAH, May 14, 2018 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Monday three days of mourning and a day of general strike in the Palestinian areas on Tuesday in memory of 52 Palestinians Israeli forces shot and killed at the Gaza borders during the day.

Speaking at the opening of a leadership meeting held in Ramallah, Abbas described as well the US embassy, which opened in Jerusalem earlier in the day, as "an American settlement outpost," in reference to hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts built in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"Today was one of the most violent days," said Abbas in reference to the large number of Palestinians killed and wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza. "This shows the level of cruelty Israel deals with our people."

He stressed, however, that in spite of the large figure of casualties in Gaza, the peaceful popular resistance will continue until the creation of the independent state of Palestine.

President Abbas said the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, which he described as a settlement outpost.

"What we saw in Jerusalem today was not the opening of an embassy, but the opening of an American settlement outpost," he said. "Before we had settlement outposts with American help, but today we have an American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem."

The United States, with its recent actions including the opening of its embassy in Jerusalem in defiance of international law and United Nations resolutions, "has removed itself from the political work in the Middle East as a mediator. It‘s no longer an arbiter," said Abbas, stressing that the Palestinians will only accept a multilateral track for negotiations through an international peace conference.

"Removing Jerusalem and the refugees off the (negotiating) table is an American slap," he said.

M.K.