Israel airstrikes kill two in Gaza after ‘day of rage’ to Trump Jerusalem declaration
ISRAEL has launched new airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing two gunmen, as a response to the “day of rage” declared by the Islamist group Hamas.
Militants fired at least three rockets towards Israeli towns from Gaza during the protests which were held after US President Donald Trump formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Israel’s military said in a statement: “IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft targeted four facilities belonging to the Hamas terror organisation in the Gaza Strip: Two weapons manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse, a military compound.”
A Hamas source confirmed the two men killed in the strikes belonged to the group which urged Palestinians to keep up the confrontation with Israeli forces.
Two other Palestinians were killed and scores injured on Friday during clashes with Israeli troops on the Gaza border and the West Bank.
Getty/AFP
All across the Arab and Muslim worlds, thousands more protesters took to the streets on the Muslim holy day to express solidarity with the Palestinians and outrage at Mr Trump's reversal of decades of US policy with Hamas calling for a "day of rage".
Trump's announcement on Wednesday has infuriated the Arab world and upset Western allies.
The status of Jerusalem has been one of the biggest obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians for generations.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital. Palestinians want the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future independent state of their own.
Violence as Palestinians, Muslims worldwide hold 'Day of Rage' over Jerusalem
Fri, December 8, 2017Thousands of Palestinians protest in a 'day of rage' in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and in East Jerusalem against President Donald Trump's recognition of the ancient city as Israel's capital
Israeli forces scuffle with Palestinians at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City
Related articles
Getty
Most countries consider East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East War, to be occupied territory.
It includes the Old City, home to sites considered holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians alike.
For decades, Washington, along with most of the rest of the international community, held back from recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying its status should be determined as part of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
Getty
The Trump administration argues that the peace process has become moribund, and outdated policies need to be jettisoned for the sides in the conflict to make progress.
Mr Trump also said he would fulfil his campaign promise and begin the process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, where no other country has an embassy.
