Israelis join Palestinians to protest US Embassy relocation
Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians took to the streets of Al-quds to voice their outrage at the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city on Monday.
The demonstration took place with participants chanting slogans such as “Jerusalem, don’t give up, we will end the occupation,” Press TV wrote.
The protesters also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and demanded an end to “escalating tensions, spreading hatred, and provocations that undermine a chance for peace.”
They shouted, “Netanyahu resign. Peace is worth more than you,” “Don’t set Jerusalem on fire,” “You don’t have any shame, there is no holiness in an occupied city.”
Israel claims the whole of Al-quds, but Palestinians consider the city’s eastern sector as the capital of their future state.
The US is scheduled to move its diplomatic mission to Al-quds today despite international condemnation.
President Donald Trump announced the dramatic shift in Washington’s policy on Al-quds last December, saying the US was recognizing the occupied city as the “capital” of Israel.
Turkey, Russia slam move
On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu condemned the planned US Embassy relocation to Al-quds, saying Ankara would continue to support the Palestinians’ right to the city.
“We need to take a common stance against this wrong decision. We are seeing some hesitance within the Arab League recently, which is a mistake,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying.
The top Turkish diplomat further stressed that “even if every country remains silent on the Al-quds issue, Turkey will not.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also warned that the US decision on Al-quds has led to a deadlock.
“We are very concerned about the situation in the Palestinian-israeli settlement; it is at a dead end. Moreover, the impasse is getting deeper, especially in light of the US decisions on Jerusalem,” Lavrov said at a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov in Moscow.
Protest expected
In the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, people are expected to hold a “major” protest rally today, coinciding with the controversial opening of the US Embassy.
The National Committee for the March of Return and Breaking the Siege called on Palestinians “to undertake a major gathering in the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip and at friction points with the occupation in the occupied West Bank, starting at 10 in the morning.”
The Israeli military said it would be doubling the number of forces around Gaza and in the West Bank.
Since March 30, Gaza has witnessed Friday rallies, dubbed “Great March of Return,” demanding the right to return for those Palestinians driven out of their homeland.
Israeli forces have used lethal force against the Gaza demonstrators, killing dozens and injuring hundreds.
The rallies culminate on May 15, the day Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were driven out of their homes in 1948 and Israel was created.