Clashes over Jerusalem move

PROTESTERS CLASHED with Israeli police and dozens were injured in Bethlehem and other cities on Thursday as demonstrations roiled the Holy Land in response to President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Palestinian protesters lobbed rocks at troops and police officers and set fire to tires and other debris, blocking roadways in cities across the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Thick plumes of smoke hung in the air above Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government.

Palestinian officials said they were blindsided by Trump’s move, which upended longstanding international assurances that the fate of the holy city would be determined in two-state negotiations.

Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem to be the site of their own future capital, were preparing for days of protest.

“We are here. We believe in our rights and one day it (will) become Jerusalem, the capital for the Palestinian people,” declared Rania Hatem, a protester outside the Old City.

Israeli forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades at crowds near a checkpoint in the city that is central to three world religions. Dozens of people were injured, according to CNN.

Demonstrators at the impromptu rallies burned posters of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with Israeli and American flags.

Tensions also were high at checkpoints along the border fence separating Israel from Gaza in East Jerusalem.

Trump’s defiant move a day earlier, which frustrated many world leaders who warned of potential violence, sparked anger across the Arab world.

The Palestinian Authority called for a general strike, closing schools and businesses as extrem-