Hundreds in Lebanon protest Trump’s Jerusalem decision

BEIRUT — Lebanese security forces clashed Sunday with demonstrators near the U.S. Embassy as hundreds protested President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

The Lebanese army fired water cannons and tear gas as youths hurled stones and burned effigies of Trump. Hundreds attended the Sunday morning protest on the edge of Beirut, many wrapped in Palestinian scarves and flags.

Injured demonstrators were carried away from the clashes, which took place less than a mile from the highly secured embassy compound. The Health Ministry later said eight people had been hospitalized and 43 people treated at the scene.

Lebanon is home to more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees. The Lebanese government has never formally recognized their status as refugees, and Palestinians are barred from dozens of professions.

The White House’s Jerusalem announcement on Wednesday triggered widespread protests, with tens of thousands across the region venting anger.

In Jerusalem, violence has been limited to small confrontations between protesters and Israeli security forces. On Sunday, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli security guard, seriously wounding him in the first attack in the city since Trump’s pronouncement.

The larger demonstrations and clashes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza had largely died out by Sunday, although skirmishes between protesters and security forces were reported in Ramallah and near Hebron in the West Bank.

But predictions of explosive violence across the region haven’t materialized.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia movement founded in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, has condemned Trump’s decision, although its first mass rally will not take place until Tuesday.

Arab foreign ministers on Sunday demanded that the United States rescind Trump’s decision, calling it a violation of international law and a “grave” development that puts Washington on the same side as the “occupation.” But a resolution they put forward was short on concrete actions while condemning Trump’s decision. The group also called on the U.N. Security Council to adopt the resolution. But Washington is expected to veto any such measure.

“We have taken a political decision not meant to reflect (what is going on in) the streets. Political work is responsible work,” Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said at a news conference. “Jerusalem has been occupied for 50 years. This is an extended battle, a battle that will be escalated.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has often sought to position himself as a leader of the Islamic world, on Sunday described Israel as a “terror state.”

“We won’t leave Jerusalem to the mercy of a child-murdering country,” Erdogan said, accusing Israel of having no values other than “occupation and plunder.” There were, however, no indications that Turkey would sever its diplomatic relations with the country.

In a news conference Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron repeated his government’s opposition to Trump’s decision, describing it as a “threat to peace.” He urged Netanyahu to negotiate with the Palestinians.

But Netanyahu showed few signs of budging. “Paris is the capital of France, and Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” he said. “We respect your history and your choices. And I know that as friends you respect ours. This is essential for peace.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said Trump’s decision means an end to the historic role the United States has played as a broker of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and his aides have indicated Abbas will not meet Vice President Pence as planned when he visits the region next week.

BILAL HUSSEIN/AP Protesters try to enter the U.S. Embassy east of Beirut on Sunday. The government said eight were hospitalized.