Palestinians set for 'day of rage' protest after Donald Trump recognises Jerusalem at Israel's capital

Palestinian protestors burn tires as they wave national flags during a protest at the main Square in Gaza City
AP
Fiona Simpson7 December 2017

Jerusalem’s West Bank is on lockdown amid fears a planned protest by Palestinians could turn violent following Donald Trump’s decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital.

Schools locked their doors and shops were boarded up as political groups called on people to march against Trump in Jerusalem.

Political groups called on protesters to march on parts of the city at noon today.

Meanwhile, Militant political group Hamas – which runs Gaza – called for a Palestinian “day of rage” in response to the US President’s unprecedented and highly controversial move.

Palestinians burned flags and pictures of of the US president while chanting anti-American slogans in Gaza and the West Bank following his speech on Wednesday.

Palestinian protesters burn tires as they wave flags during a rally in Gaza City on Wednesday.
AP

Similar protests were also held in Istanbul, Amman and Cairo, while Saudi Arabia has officially condemned the US change of stance.

In his bombshell speech, President Trump said the US would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, although he set no timetable.

Hamas leader Sheikh Ismaeil Haneiya joins a protest against the US
EPA

"We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past," Mr Trump said, brushing aside the appeals for caution from around the world.

Harsh objections came from a wide array of presidents and prime ministers, who feel the US is risking the fragile peace process in the highly combustible region.

Palestinians burn Israeli and US flags and posters of Mr Trump in Rafah, southern Gaza strip.
EPA

Meanwhile, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Mr Trump of throwing the Middle East into a "ring of fire" with his decision on the holy city.

Mr Erdogan also compared Mr Trump to a "blender" that is stirring up trouble in the region.

Protests erupt after Trump's Jerusalem decision

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The Turkish leader said, addressing Mr Trump: "It's not possible to understand what you are trying to get out of it."

Mr Erdogan added that "political leaders exist not to stir things up, but to make peace".

He also said: "If Trump says 'I am strong therefore I am right', he is mistaken."

Mr Erdogan spoke to a group of workers on Thursday who had gathered at Ankara's airport, before he departed for an official visit to Greece.

Mr Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a powerfully symbolic statement about a city that houses many of the world's holiest sites.

Commentary: Politically crass move that isolates both Israel and US

 

For the enemies of Israel and Donald Trump, the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a casual or deliberate provocation. 

Since Israel declared independence in 1948, the US has declined to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, maintaining its embassy in Tel Aviv even after Israeli forces captured the whole of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Mr Trump had promised to recognise Jerusalem and move the embassy there in his election campaign last year. The question is why he decided to make the announcement now. 

While it has been welcomed by Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for many Arabs, Muslims and Christians across the region, it looks historically insensitive and politically crass. It will not help any attempt to resuscitate the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Some fear that it will provoke another round of Palestinian unrest — a fourth Intifada.

Jerusalem is sacred to all three religions of the Book — Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is the site of the Temple of Solomon, and the place of Christ’s crucifixion. For Muslims, the Haram al Sharif (Dome of the Rock) is where Mohammed ascended to heaven, a holy place below only Mecca and Medina.

Palestinians seeking to create their own state have always claimed Jerusalem as their capital. Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, declared Trump’s move “the total abandonment of agreements signed between Palestinians and Israelis”. For Mr Trump, the declaration is “nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do”.

Jerusalem has been one of the five key issues in the negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis for more than 20 years — and the thorniest, ahead of the recognition of borders, security concerns, resources and refugee rights.

No significant American in Europe and beyond has backed the president’s move — some declaring it provocative and a blow to finding a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute.

It has alienated Muslim countries, including major players Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. It is seen as giving a huge propaganda gift to the clerical hardliners in Iran, which at times has threatened Israel with oblivion.

In the casual manner and timing of his intervention, Mr Trump seems to have made matters a lot worse. The immediate, doubtless unintended effect of his sudden announcement is to isolate both Israel and America to an alarming degree.

Robert Fox, Defence Editor

He cited several: the Western Wall that surrounded the Jews' ancient Temple, the Stations of the Cross that depict Jesus along his crucifixion path, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque where Muslims say their Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

And there are major ramifications over who should control the territory.

The United States has never endorsed the Jewish state's claim of sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem and has seen the city's future as indelibly linked to the "deal of the century" between Israel and the Palestinians that Mr Trump believes he can reach.

Beyond Mr Kushner, Mr Trump has dispatched other top emissaries to the region in recent months in hopes of advancing new negotiations.

Mr Trump said he was not delivering any verdict about where an Israeli-Palestinian border should lie.

Instead, he described his Jerusalem declaration as recognising the reality that most of Israel's government already operates from the city, and he suggested the US ally should be rewarded for creating a successful democracy where "people of all faiths are free to live and worship".

"Today we finally acknowledge the obvious," he said, emphasising that he would not follow past presidents who tiptoed around Jerusalem out of diplomatic caution.

US embassies and consulates around the world were put on high alert.

Across the Middle East and Europe, they issued warnings to Americans to watch out for violent protests.

In Jordan, home to a large Palestinian population, the US said it would close its embassy to the public on Thursday and urged children of diplomats there to stay home from school.

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