Monday, November 26, 2007

Massive Protests in Israel Against Annapolis Meeting

Story here. Emphasis mine

JERUSALEM – Israelis across the country today protested Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attendance at tomorrow's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, blasting the Israeli leader for his expressed willingness to evacuate strategic territory, including possibly swaths of Jerusalem.

Nationalist groups handed out flyers against Annapolis at the entrances to Jerusalem and other major Israeli cities and even blocked streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in protest of tomorrow's summit.

An estimated 25,000 people took part in a mass prayer service at the Western Wall today against Olmert's positions at Annapolis; afterwards large crowds converged for a protest outside the prime minister's Jerusalem residence. Another estimated 10,000 Israelis rallied today in the center of Jerusalem, with many holding placards denouncing land giveaways.

"Ehud Olmert, like Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) and George Bush, is a lame duck and all they can offer are expectations which will ultimately blow up in our faces," said Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha council of Jewish settlements.

(...)

"The people of Israel did not give you a mandate to give away its property and what belongs to it historically ... you have no mandate, sir,"