Streets in flames as Palestinians rage over Trump
VIOLENT protests erupted yesterday as Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital sparked calls for a Palestinian uprising.
Rockets were fired from Gaza, while demonstrators in the West Bank faced down Israeli anti-riot troops with burning tyres, slings and catapults.
Protests were fiercest in the West Bank towns of Ramallah and Bethlehem. At least 31 Palestinians were wounded, with one critical, as soldiers returned fire with tear gas, and rubber and live bullets.
Israel deployed reinforcements to the occupied territories after three rockets were fired from Gaza. Two failed to reach Israel, while the third landed in an open area causing no casualties.
The Israeli military said last night that an aircraft and tank had targeted two militant posts inside the enclave – however residents said no one was hurt. Palestinians also threw stones across the border fence at soldiers, who responded with live fire.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, called for a new ‘intifada’ or uprising – and warned that the powerful group’s armed soldiers were ready to fight.
Hamas controls Gaza and refuses to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. Haniyeh – who called for ‘three days of rage’ following Mr Trump’s announcement on Wednesday – urged Palestinians to increase their protests after noon prayers today.
‘Jerusalem has always been the... starting point of uprisings. Trump will regret this decision,’ he said. Hamas accused the US President of ‘declaring war in the Middle East’ by effectively ceding the fiercelycontested holy city of Jews, Christians and Muslims to the Israeli state. Meanwhile the rival Palestinian movement Fatah – led by Mahmoud Abbas – is protesting through diplomatic means, filing a complaint to the UN Security Council and pushing for support from members of the Arab League.
Mr Abbas has reportedly said he does not want another intifada. Middle East observers are waiting to see which group will triumph in the public’s support.
Mr Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – recognising Israel’s claim that the city is its capital – has been lambasted for ignoring Jerusalem’s deeply symbolic significance to Palestinians.
They want East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967, to be the capital of a future Palestinian state, but many say that is now impossible as Washington has effectively ceded the city to Israel.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was confident other countries would follow Washington’s decision – but Muslim leaders said that the US had instead destroyed its credibility as an impartial arbiter of the conflict.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s top foreign policy official, warned that the Trump announcement ‘has the potential to send us backwards to even darker times’.
There has been mixed reaction in the US. Democrats, liberal Jewish groups and their media allies have condemned the move, accusing Mr Trump of putting politics before diplomacy in trying to bolster his support at home.
However conservative and orthodox Jewish groups applauded the President, as did many evangelical Christians. The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted the President was ‘simply carrying out the will of the American people’. Meanwhile Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah called it ‘malicious American aggression’. Militia in Iraq said Mr Trump’s decision could become a ‘legitimate reason’ to attack US forces. Even close US allies in the region have attacked Mr Trump’s decision. Jordan said the move contradicted longstanding UN resolutions, while the Saudi government described the decision as an ‘irresponsible’. Qatar warned of ‘serious repercussions’ for stability.
‘Three days of rage’