55 killed in Gaza massacre
55 killed in protests as trump opens embassy in Jerusalem
THEY came in their tens of thousands to try to storm the border.
By the end of the day at least 55 Palestinians had been killed and thousands more injured by Israeli troops.
Barely 60 miles away the controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem was launched with a video message from Donald Trump in the White House.
It was the decision to move it there from Tel Aviv that sparked these violent protests in which so many lives were lost
There were demonstrations in many Palestinian towns yesterday – 70 years since the state of Israel was founded.
At 4pm, as the embassy was opened, I stood looking across into Gaza. At the Karni crossing between Israel and Gaza hundreds of Palestinians moved towards the fence, set tyres ablaze then retreated.
Smoke filled the air and machine guns could be heard, then a distant boom and a plume of smoke. “That was a targeted Israel air force hit,” said a soldier by me at the Black Arrow memorial.
Mum-of-three Yael Raz, 41, who works on a kibbutz half a mile from the border, said: “Those who are trying to break through the borders are not trying to bring us flowers and cakes. I just hope one day we can live in peace.”
Earlier in the West Bank we saw huge graffiti pictures of Trump. They included the message “F**k you Donny.”
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar urged youths to rebel, calling yesterday and today a “vital and crucial 48 hours in Palestine history”. He said:
“What’s the problem if hundreds of thousands storm this fence, which is not a border of a state? What’s the problem with that?” Israeli Defence Forces said 40,000 Palestinians took part in “violent riots” at 13 points along the Gaza Strip security fence. They said demonstrators were being used as cover for terrorists aiming to kill or kidnap civilians or plant bombs. More are expected today, Nakba Day – or Catastrophe Day – commemorating the Palestinians losing their land 70 years ago. Earlier, before violence had erupted, Israeli fighter jets dropped leaflets over Gaza, saying in Arabic: “You are taking part in violent riots which jeopardise your lives.
“Hamas is taking advantage of you in order to hide its failures and is threatening you and your family members’ well-being.”
In Jerusalem the streets were adorned with US and Israeli flags, with a carnival atmosphere as Israelis praised Trump.
His daughter Ivanka and her husband, White House adviser Jared Kushner, were among 800 guests at the embassy opening.
British, French and German ambassadors and dozens more refused to attend.
Trump said the move to Jerusalem had been a “long time coming”. He added: “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right to determine its own capital.” Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu told him: “By recognising history, you have made history. All of us are deeply grateful.”
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said: “The US administration has cancelled its role in the peace process and has insulted the world, the Palestinian people and the Arab and the Islamic nation and created incitement and instability.”
Theresa May’s spokesman said: “We urge calm and restraint.” He added the US embassy move was “unhelpful”. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Israel of a “wanton disregard for international law”. And British Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry called on Israeli forces to “stop this vicious and utterly avoidable slaughter”, condemning Netanyahu’s government for its “brutal, lethal and unjustified actions”.
She added that the UK should lead calls for a UN investigation into the incidents. Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is not recognised internationally. Its status is to be discussed in the late stages of peace talks, under the 1993 peace accords. Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967.