Friday, 08 December 2017 - 10:04

Palestine demonstrators clash with Israeli forces

Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers have clashed in Jerusalem, Ramallah and other places in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, yesterday (07) with some demonstrators burning American flags and posters of President Trump a day after he sided with Israel by announcing U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as its capital.

But at nightfall, after the skirmishes died down, the region was bracing for worse.

More than 100 people were injured, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, despite the deployment of several extra battalions of Israeli troops.

The critical test comes today when larger demonstrations are expected as crowds leave mosques after the weekly noon prayers.

In Gaza, the Islamist movement Hamas urged its followers to ignite a third intifada, or uprising, against Israel.

The Palestinian Authority called for a general strike. Shops were shuttered in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that he would move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and his declaration that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital reversed a decades-old US policy.

But the status of the city — holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews and struggled over for millennia — is a deeply charged issue that resonates beyond the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The backlash rippled across the wider region, with hundreds of demonstrators gathering outside the US Embassy in neighboring Jordan holding placards reading “Decision Rejected” and “No to U.S. arrogance.” Criticisms continued to flow in from governments in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, with US friends and adversaries alike voicing disapproval and alarm.

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