Jerusalem recognition spurs call for new intifada
ISRAEL: Israeli security forces clashed with young Palestinians in street battles across the occupied West Bank yesterday as Hamas called for a ‘‘new intifada’’ in response to United States President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Israeli military have called for reinforcements in anticipation of further clashes.
The United Nations Security Council is to convene to discuss the inflamed situation in the Middle East after Britain and seven other states requested an emergency meeting to debate Trump’s announcement.
Aftershocks from the US decision were felt far beyond the region. In Amsterdam, a man carrying a Palestinian flag attacked a Jewish kosher restaurant, and demonstrators gathered in cities across Pakistan.
Around 50 Palestinians suffered minor injuries during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem. Young men hurled stones and set tyres alight to block roads, while Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
In Bethlehem, smoke rose from among the Christmas decorations adorning the streets leading to the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Jesus is said to have been born.
The Israeli Defence Forces said two rockets were fired from Gaza yesterday but both projectiles fell short. The rockets were believed to have been fired by the Salafist group and not Hamas.
But later a ‘‘projectile’’ landed inside Israel from Gaza, and the Israeli military retaliated by striking two Hamas posts, the army said.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, said yesterday: ‘‘This Zionist policy supported by the US cannot be confronted unless we ignite a new intifada.’’ Speaking in Gaza, he added: ‘‘The US decision is an aggression, a declaration of war on us, on the best Muslim and Christian shrines in the heart of Palestine, Jerusalem.’’
Soon after the speech, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, said he supported the call for a new Palestinian intifada.
Both Hizbollah and Hamas have considerable arsenals but neither group said they planned to turn them on Israel in retaliation for Trump’s announcement.
Trump’s declaration was met with condemnation from US allies in the West and in the Middle East. Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary, said the move was ‘‘not helpful’’.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, warned that it could ‘‘send us backwards to even darker times’’.
The Palestinian leadership said it was still formulating a response.
Israelis continued to celebrate the US recognition of Jerusalem as their capital.
The headline ‘‘Thank You, Mr President’’ was splashed across the front of the newspaper, which is owned by Sheldon Adelson, a pro-Israel US casino mogul who urged Trump to make the move. –