Scores of Palestinians killed near Israeli border
Violence takes place as relocation of U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem is marked
Spokesmen for the Israeli military and the White House blamed the militant group Hamas for the deaths.
JERUSALEM – More than 50 Palestinians were killed Monday in mass protests along the border with Gaza while Israel celebrated the U.S. Embassy’s contentious move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
The demonstrations have been taking place for weeks and reached a violent apex as Israel also marked 70 years since the Jewish nation was established. Palestinians annually mark their resulting displacement on Nakba Day, or the Day of Catastrophe, on May 15.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 52 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,200 wounded Monday in border clashes with the Israeli military, making it the most deadly day since 2014.
“This disproportionate and illegal use of lethal force against unarmed civilian protesters is criminal,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, blamed Gaza’s Hamas leadership, saying the Islamic militant group encouraged Palestinians to breach the border fence. He said more than 35,000 Palestinians were taking part in “violent riots” and tried to crash through the fence.
White House spokesman Raj Shah also blamed Hamas for the deaths, saying the group was “cynically provoking” the Israeli response.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who blasted the embassy as an “American settlement outpost,” called for three days of mourning. British Prime Minister Theresa May was among Western leaders calling for “calm and restraint” on both sides.
The embassy move has outraged Palestinians who have long hoped to create a capital for themselves in the city’s eastern sector. But Israeli and U.S. officials were determined not to let the violence diminish the embassy celebration.
“Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital,” President Donald Trump said in a taped message played at the dedication ceremony. “For
many years we failed to acknowledge the obvious.”
Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to Trump, and Trump daughter Ivanka led the U.S. delegation at the ceremony. Kushner drew a standing ovation when he mentioned Trump’s announcement last week that the U.S. would withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy.
David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, presided over the dedication ceremony, and said the embassy move keeps a “promise we made to the American people.”
Nearby, more than 500 demonstrators rallying near the ceremony clashed with Israeli forces, and police made at least one arrest. Demonstrators chanted, “Jerusalem is ours!”
Safa Yasin, 19, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, said the embassy move “cements Israeli control over Jerusalem” and shows disregard for the rights of the Palestinian people.
“We stand in solidarity with all Palestinians,” he said. “The ones in Gaza right now especially.”
Some Israelis came out in support of the embassy. Among the supporters, who were separated by a police barrier from protesters, was Elisha Haas, 74, an Israeli professor of biophysics at Bar Ilan University.
“I came here to say thank you to President Trump,” Haas said, adding that he has no sympathy for the Palestinians being shot along the border. “I don’t care how many are killed because they are using these protests to terrorize Israel. The despair of Gaza is fake news.”
Contributing: The Associated Press