Israeli stabbed amid protests at Trump’s Jerusalem decision
● Security guard seriously hurt and Palestinian attacker arrested
A security guard was stabbed in Jerusalem yesterday amid continuing violent protests over over US President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.
Police said the guard was seriously wounded and his Palestinian attacker arrested. The Magen David Adom medical service said a 30-yearold man suffered a stabbing wound to his upper body.
The attack at the city’s central bus station came amid continuing unrest and demonstrations throughout the Middle East and around the world, sparked by Mr Trump’s announcement.
In the West Bank city of Bethlehem, youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers, who fired back with rubber bullets and tear gas.
In Lebanon, security forces broke up a protest outside the heavily-guarded US embassy after demonstrators pelted them with stones.
The protesters gathered early yesterday outside the embassy to reject the US recognition of Jerusalem.
After a rowdy start, the protest drew several hundred people and became more peaceful, with demonstrators chanting and singing.
However, the clashes resumed in the afternoon, with security forces chasing protesters, arresting a handful of them and lobbing tear gas canisters.
Lebanon is home to 450,000 Palestinian refugees, nearly 10 per cent of the population.
Protests also took place in Cairo and Rabat, the Moroccan capital.
Responding to the unrest, French President Emmanuel Macron “firmly and clearly” condemned all recent attacks against Israel.
After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris, Mr Macron also reaffirmed his “disapproval” of Mr Trump’s announcement.
He said: “What’s new is that the United States unilaterally recognised something that is not complying with international law.”
Mr Macron appealed for calm in the Middle East and asked Mr Netanyahu to make gestures toward the Palestinians to “give a chance” to peace.
The French president said one gesture could be a freeze on Israel settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
He also said he wanted to wait for potential US “mediation” in coming weeks and months and would only support an initiative that would be accepted by Israelis, Palestinians and other parties in the region.
Turkey’s president, meanwhile, has stepped up his war of words on the US position on Jerusalem.
In a speech in central Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Israel is a terror state.”
He called Israeli forces “terrorists”, referring to a photograph of a blindfolded Palestinian youth being led away by more than a dozen soldiers in the West Bank. “We won’t leave Jerusalem to the mercy of a child-murdering country,” Mr Erdogan said, accusing Israel of having no values other than “occupation and plunder”.
He said Turkey would continue efforts to reverse Mr Trump’s announcement, which he called “null”.
The Vatican said Pope Francis was praying for leaders of nations to commit themselves to work to “avert a new spiral of violence” over Jerusalem and expressed “sorrow for the clashes in recent days”.
It recalled the Pope’s appeal last week for “wisdom and prudence” to prevail.
The Vatican said only a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians could achieve “stable and lasting peace”.
In more than two years of intermittent attacks, Palestinians have killed more than 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks.
Israeli forces have killed more than 260 Palestinians in that time – mostly attackers.