Protests Across Palestinian Areas, Mideast, After Trump Move
Clashes between hundreds of
Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops erupted across the West Bank on
Thursday while demonstrators in Gaza burned posters of President Donald Trump
and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israeli and U.S. flags.
The leader of the Hamas
militant group, which runs Gaza, called for a new armed uprising in a
widespread show of anger over Trump's move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's
capital.
In the West Bank, crowds of
protesters set tires on fire and hurled stones at anti-riot troops. In the
biblical town of Bethlehem, troops fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse
a crowd, in clashes that could cloud the upcoming Christmas celebrations in the
town of Jesus' birth. In Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government,
protesters set tires on fire, sending a thick plume of black smoke over the
city.
Trump's dramatic break on
Wednesday with decades of U.S. policy on Jerusalem counters long-standing
international assurances to the Palestinians that the fate of the city will be
determined in negotiations. The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east
Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as a future capital.
Palestinians shuttered
their schools and shops on Thursday to begin three "days of rage"
over Trump's decision. Rallies were underway in other West Bank cities, and a
demonstration was being held outside the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City.
There were no serious
casualties reported in Thursday's clashes. But Friday, the Muslim holy day,
could provide an important test when Palestinians gather for weekly mass
prayers.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas'
leader Ismail Haniyeh called on Palestinians to launch a new intifada, or
uprising, against Israel on Friday.
"The American decision
is an aggression on our people and a war on our sanctuaries," Haniyeh said
in a speech, urging supporters "to be ready for any orders."
"We want the uprising
to last and continue to let Trump and the occupation regret this
decision," he said.
Hamas, a group that seeks
Israel's destruction, killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other
attacks in the early 2000s. But the group's capabilities are more limited now.
Gaza, Hamas' stronghold, is closed by an Israeli blockade, while in the West
Bank, many of its members have been arrested. Nonetheless, it possesses a large
arsenal of rockets capable of striking much of Israel.
Spontaneous protests
sparked in Gaza overnight, with angry youths burning tires, American and
Israeli flags and Trump posters.
The Israeli military said
it would deploy several battalions to the West Bank ahead of Friday, while
other troops have been put on alert to address "possible
developments."
The conflicting claims to
Jerusalem, and especially its Old City, where sensitive Jewish, Muslim and
Christian holy sites are located, lie at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. While Trump's decision had no impact on the city's daily life, it
carried deep symbolic meaning, and was seen as siding with Israel and an
attempt to impose a solution on the Palestinians.
Israel, which claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided
capital, has welcomed Trump's decision. Netanyahu said Trump "bound
himself forever" to the history of Jerusalem with the move and claimed
other states are considering following suit.
"We are already in contact with other states that will
make a similar recognition," he said at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
Anger at the U.S. has rippled across the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia's royal court, led by King Salman and his
powerful son, condemned the Trump administration's decision in a rare public
rebuke by the U.S. ally. The regional powerhouse, which could help the White
House push through a Middle East settlement, said Thursday the kingdom had
already warned against this step and "continues to express its deep regret
at the U.S. administration's decision," describing it "unjustified
and irresponsible."
Trump's move puts the Sunni nation in a bind. The kingdom,
particularly its powerful crown prince, Mohammad Bin Salman, enjoys close
relations with Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who leads Trump's
efforts to restart Mideast peace talks.
U.S. Embassies across much of the Middle East and parts of
Africa warned American citizens of possible protests following Trump's move.
Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas has suggested that with Trump's move, the United States
disqualified itself as mediator between Israelis and Palestinians, a role it
has played exclusively in more than two decades of stop-and-go negotiations
aimed at setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The talks, stalled in
recent years, have failed to bring the Palestinians closer to the state the
seek in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in
the 1967 Mideast war. In parallel, Israel has steadily expanded Jewish
settlements on war-won lands, even as it said it wants to negotiate a deal.
Trump's claim Wednesday
that he still wants to pursue what he has called the "ultimate"
Mideast deal was met by mounting skepticism.
"With its decision, the
U.S. has isolated itself and Israel, and has pushed the area into a dangerous
situation and stopped the peace process," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a senior
Abbas aid. "Without a doubt, this decision will not help at all in solving
the problems in the area, but rather strengthen the extremists."
Abbas has not said what
steps he would take, if any. Later Thursday, he was to meet with his closest
Arab ally, Jordan's King Abdullah II, to coordinate positions.
Jordan plays a central role
in the mounting controversy and, alongside other U.S. allies in the region, has
slammed Trump's decision on Jerusalem.
The king is seen as one of
Washington's most dependable partners in the battle against Islamic extremism
in the region.
At the same time, the
legitimacy of his Hashemite dynasty is closely linked to its special role in
Jerusalem, as religious guardian of a key Muslim shrine in east Jerusalem.
Jordan, which has a large population with Palestinian roots, cannot afford to
be seen as soft on Muslim claims to the holy city.
The consultations between
the monarch and Abbas will kick off a series of meetings in the Arab and Muslim
world on how to respond to Trump.
The Arab League, a group
representing most states in the Middle East and North Africa, will meet
Saturday. Next week, Turkey will host a gathering of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 Arab and Muslim member states.
The region has been bracing
for fallout from Trump's seismic policy shift.
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Trump of throwing the Mideast into a
"ring of fire" and said his motives were difficult to fathom.
"It's not possible to understand what you are trying to get out of
it," Erdogan said, referring to Trump in a speech to a group of workers at
Ankara's airport.
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