Trump Jerusalem move sparks Palestinian protests, sporadic clashes

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital sparked Palestinian protests, sporadic clashes and a call for a new intifada on Thursday as fears grew of fresh bloodshed in the region.

Trump's announcement also prompted an almost universal diplomatic backlash, with fresh warnings from Turkey, the European Union and Russia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, lavished praise on Trump, saying his name would now be associated with Jerusalem's long history and urging other countries to follow his lead.

Israel's military deployed hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank amid uncertainty over the fallout, while sporadic clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces erupted in various areas.

In a speech in Gaza City, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya called for a new intifada, or uprising, but unrest was limited for now.

At least two rockets were believed to have been fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, but Israel's military said they landed inside the Palestinian enclave.

Further protests were expected after the main weekly Muslim prayers on Friday, with Hamas calling for a ''day of rage''.

Protests on Thursday were held in West Bank cities including Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus, as well as in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces dispersed several hundred protesters with tear gas at a checkpoint at the entrance to Ramallah, while the Palestinian Red Crescent reported 22 people wounded from live fire or rubber bullets in the West Bank.

Five Palestinians were wounded from Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip as dozens protested near the barrier sealing off the enclave from Israel, Gazan authorities said.

Trump's defiant move -- making good on a pledge from his 2016 presidential campaign -- ends seven decades of US ambiguity on the status of the Holy City, claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians.

Trump said it marks the start of a ''new approach'' to solving the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

''It is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,'' he said in a speech from the White House on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday during a visit to Vienna that Trump was ''simply carrying out the will of the American people''.

But his willingness to part with international consensus on such a sensitive issue drew increasingly urgent warnings from around the world.