U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Ramallah on Thursday and his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met a stony reception from the Palestinian people. A senior official in Abbas' office told Israel Hayom, "Unfortunately, we have little hope that the visit will do much to reignite the peace process."
"The primary purpose of this visit is Israeli security, Israeli-American relations and saying that the U.S. has its back," said Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Obama's landing in Israel on Wednesday sparked rage on the Palestinian street, as hundreds of Palestinian protesters rallied in Ramallah and Bethlehem against the visit. The protesters ripped posters of the American president and sprayed swastikas on others.
"Obama isn't welcome here," said Rasem al-Masri, one of the organizers of the Ramallah protest. "He made it clear that he won't pressure Israel into resuming the negotiations and every Palestinian attempt to pass a U.N. Security Council resolution against Israel has been vetoed by the Americans," he said.
In another measure of protest, some 500 Palestinians formed a new illegal outpost in the contested E1 area in the West Bank. Dozens of tents were pitched near the village of al-Izzariya, southeast of Jerusalem, near the site of Bab al-Shams, a Palestinian outpost that was formed — and razed — in February.
The protesters denounced Obama for "supporting the Israeli occupation and the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people."
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were also vexed by the visit. Hundreds of Palestinian activists rallied in Gaza City on Wednesday denouncing Obama as "a Zionist collaborator" and torching posters of the American president.
Obama has said he will not bring any new initiatives to try to revive long-dormant peace talks, adding that he has come to Israel and the Palestinian territories for simple consultations.