Jerusalem row: 2 killed in Gaza in Israeli strikes
US could veto any resolution in UNSC seeking to condemn decision
GAZA : Israeli air strikes in Gaza killed two Palestinian gunmen on Saturday after rockets were fired from the enclave, in violence that erupted over President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In Cairo, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-maliki said the Palestinians will seek a UN Security Council resolution over Trump’s decision on Jerusalem. But being a permanent member in the council, US could veto any resolution seeking to condemn Trump’s decision.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron will work together to try to persuade the US to reconsider the move, a Turkish presidential source said.
Gaza militants launched at least three rockets towards Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas , after dark on Friday. The day had been declared a “day of rage” by Palestinian factions protesting against Trump’s announcement on Wednesday.
“IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft targeted four facilities belonging to the Hamas terror organisation in the Gaza Strip: two weapons manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse, a military compound,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s adviser said the leader would not be meeting US Vice President Mike Pence, who was due to visit the region later this month. A possible meeting with Pence has been turned down by Egypt’s Coptic Church.
The US faced blunt and sometimes withering criticism from friends and adversaries alike at the UN Security Council on Friday. The rebukes constituted an extraordinarily public denunciation of American policy, leaving the US alone on the issue among the council’s 15 members.