Backlash roils Mideast over Jerusalem

Mob turned back from embassy in Lebanon

Unrest erupted Sunday across the Mideast in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy there.

Protesters in Beirut hurled rocks and plastic water bottles toward the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, while a security guard was stabbed in Jerusalem. Demonstrations were also held in Israel and across the world.

The protest in Lebanon, which is home to 450,000 refugees, was met with tear gas and water cannons fired by Lebanese security forces Sunday, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut issued a security message reminding U.S. citizens of “the need for caution and awareness of personal security.”

“U.S. Embassy Beirut is aware that several groups have announced public protests following the U.S. announcement of a new policy with regard to the status of Jerusalem,” the embassy said in a statement. “Demonstrations have the potential to become violent.”

The Beirut protesters burned U.S. and Israeli flags, piles of garbage and an effigy of Trump, the Associated Press reported. Protesters pried open the gate of the embassy compound but were turned back by security forces, according to Haaretz.

Thousands also participated in demonstrations in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday in response to Trump’s statement.

The protesters carried flags and banners expressing solidarity with Palestinians, according to Agence FrancePresse.

Hundreds of Israeli Arabs protested Sunday along a major highway in the Wadi Ara area of northern Israel, AP reported, damaging several vehicles and leaving three people wounded.

In response to the protests, Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, called for a boycott of Arab businesses in that region.

In Jerusalem, a Palestinian was arrested Sunday after allegedly stabbing a security guard, according to Israeli police.