CALL FOR INTIFADA
US President Donald Trump’s recognition of occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital sparked Palestinian protests, 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.
Radical Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, however, lavished praise on Trump, saying his name would now be associated with Jerusalem’s long history.
Israel’s military deployed hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank amid uncertainty over the fallout, while 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.
Protests 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.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the decision could take the region “backwards to even darker times”.
Russia said it viewed the move with “serious concern” and Saudi Arabia called it “unjustified and irresponsible” and said it goes against the “historical and permanent rights of the Palestinian people”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul next week to display joint action over Jerusalem.
Erdogan said it would put the region in a “ring of fire”.
“What kind of approach is this? Political leaders do not stir things up, they seek to make peace,” he said.
Palestinian leaders were outraged, with President Mahmoud Abbas saying Trump had disqualified the United States from its traditional role as peace broker in the Middle East conflict.
Abbas visited Amman on Thursday to discuss the issue with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
In a joint statement, the two leaders said “any measure tampering with the legal and historical status of Jerusalem is invalid” and warned that Trump’s decision “will have dangerous repercussions”.
Angry protests were staged in Amman and Tunis.
Palestinian shops in east Jerusalem, including the Old City, as well as in the West Bank were largely shuttered and schools closed on Thursday in answer to a strike call.
“By this decision, America became a very small country, like any small country in the world, like Micronesia,” Salah Zuhikeh, 55, said in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Trump’s move left many angry US allies struggling to find a diplomatic response.
Through gritted teeth, Britain described the move as “unhelpful” and France called it “regrettable.” Germany said plainly that it “does not support” Trump’s decision.
Eight countries including Britain, France and Italy pressed for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in response, which was set for Friday.
Israel seized Arab east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.
The Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.
The international community does not recognise the ancient city as Israel’s capital, insisting the issue can only be resolved in negotiations.
Taking this type of step puts the world, especially the region, in a ring of fire. Hey Trump, what do you want to do? Political leaders do not stir things up Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President
The American decision on Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a step that is rejected by the Arab world and risks spilling dangers over into the region Saad Hariri Lebanon’s Prime Minister
These deplorable and unacceptable measures undermine all peace efforts. US can no longer play the role of peace broker after Trump’s decision Mahmoud Abbas Palestinian President