RAMALLAH: Palestinians were gathering in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday to offer a hero's welcome to their president as he returns from submitting a historic UN membership bid.
President Mahmud Abbas was expected to arrive in the city, the political capital of the West Bank, at around 1100 GMT, but unions and the campaign that backed the membership bid called on supporters to begin gathering hours before.
A welcome party was planned at the Muqataa, the presidential headquarters in the city, and a stage was set up next to the grave of former president Yasser Arafat inside the compound.
The Palestinian workers' union called on its members to join the celebrations, and government offices were expected to close early to allow employees to attend.
The teachers' union also announced schools would close at 1000 GMT to allow students and teachers to attend the welcome party, local media reported.
Both state television and the state-run news agency WAFA called on the public to mass at the Muqataa, and Palestinians across the West Bank received text messages advertising "the official mass reception."
Palestine TV devoted its broadcast to Abbas, broadcasting photographs of the leader throughout the years as well as footage of him meeting ordinary Palestinians and international figures.
"Urgent: Crowds of our people flock to the presidential headquarters to participate in the welcome reception for president Mahmud Abbas," a banner along the bottom of the screen read.
Abbas's Fatah party also called on its members to attend, and buses were organised to ferry people from other cities in the West Bank, including Jericho and Nablus, to Ramallah for the event.
Abbas is experiencing an unprecedented boost in popularity after delivering a request earlier this week that the United Nations admit Palestine as a full member state.
His address to the UN General Assembly, delivered shortly after he formally submitted the bid, was broadcast live on big screens set up in the centres of major West Bank cities.
Crowds cheered the unassuming leader, and he received rave reviews in the Palestinian media the next day, with commentators hailing his "brave" address and his courage in delivering the bid despite US and Israeli opposition.
"President Abu Mazen returns today and the masses have prepared to welcome him with a reception fit for the man who raised the voice of Palestine in the world's most important forum -- the United Nations," Al-Quds newspaper wrote in its editorial on Sunday.
"Abbas's return to the homeland today is a hero's return and a return that could stir the stagnant waters of the Middle East," it wrote.
Comments
Comments are closed.