Trump Jerusalem Move: Violent Clashes in West Bank Leave 16 Palestinians Wounded

Clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank has left not less than 16 Palestinians wounded, as protests against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital erupted.

While the injuries are mostly from tear gas and rubber bullets, at least one person was hurt by live fire, according to a BBC report.

There were also reports of wide-spread strikes and streets protests among Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In a bid to further stoke the tension, the Islamist group Hamas called on Palestinians on Thursday to abandon the peace process and launch a new intifada or uprising against Israel, which has since deployed hundreds of extra troops in the West Bank.

The Israeli military, which according to Reuters said it was reinforcing troops in the West Bank, has deployed several new army battalions and placed other forces on standby. These were measures it described as part of its“readiness for possible developments”.

Trump’s announcement was greeted worldwide with dismay and has reversed decades of US policy on the sensitive issue.

Many of Washington’s allies have declared their opposition to the move, and both the UN Security Council and the Arab League plan to meet in the coming days to decide their response.

The US president was quoted by BBC to have said on Wednesday that he had “determined it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel”.

“I’ve judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.