OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Thousands of Palestinians protested Wednesday in Gaza against Israel's West Bank annexation plans, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said talks were ongoing on the controversial project facing intensifying international opposition.
Netanyahu's centre-right coalition government had set July 1 as the date from which it could begin implementing US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace proposal.
While no major announcement was expected on Israel's self-imposed kick-off date, Netanyahu's office said talks with US officials "were continuing on the application of sovereignty."
Netanyahu was also discussing annexation with his security chiefs, it added, noting that "further discussions will be held in the coming days."
In Gaza City, several thousand protesters gathered, some brandishing Palestinian flags and placards condemning Trump at a rally.
"The resistance must be revived," Gaza protester Rafeeq Inaiah told AFP. "Israel is afraid of force."
Smaller demonstrations were held in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jericho, attended by a handful of left-wing Israeli politicians opposed to annexation.
"We want to affirm our support for peace," former Labour party official Ophir Pines-Paz told AFP.
The Trump plan, unveiled in January, offered a path for Israel to annex territory and Jewish West Bank settlements, communities considered illegal under international law.
Netanyahu supports the Trump plan - which has been roundly rejected by the Palestinians - but the right-wing premier has not laid out his intentions for enacting the US proposals.
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