Israeli forces have shot and killed at least 58 Palestinians and left 2,771 injured during mass protests against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Palestinian health officials say.
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Meanwhile, this week marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, which commemorates Palestinian displacement following the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948.
Thousands of Palestinians have been demonstrating along the border between Gaza and Israel for nearly a month in the lead up to the opening of the new us embassy in Jerusalem on Monday.
Many countries including Britain, France and Russian Federation had already slammed the USA decision to move the embassy, while 128 nations have backed a UN resolution condemning Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Gaza health officials told the news agency that 41 people so far have been killed in Monday’s violence, and at least 772 have been wounded.
The U.N. Security Council is set to meet Tuesday to discuss the deadly violence along the Israel-Gaza border.
Israeli force in their defence said that Hamas tried bombing shielding behind the protesters.
The protesters had spent days collecting tires from across Gaza, which they set on fire along the border to create smokescreens to hide the demonstrators from Israeli snipers. ‘The Hamas terrorist organisation declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal’.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the United States was an accomplice in a crime against humanity.
Kushner also praised President Trump for standing firm in his desire to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, noting that other Presidents have made similar promises as candidates only to buck them once they were in office.
Outside, protests erupted along the Gaza Israeli border in response to the formal change of American foreign policy. “White House senior adviser Jared Kushner spoke today at the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem”, The Late Night host said.
The President’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are attending the opening ceremony of the new embassy.
But Ken Schneiderman, treasurer of the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel – a group of evangelical Christians and conservative Jews who support Israel, said the USA move wasn’t a provocation. They need to stop treating the situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis as if they are two sovereign states fighting each other.
Ruiz said the provenance of Jerusalem is something that should be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians. “And though the White House says that moving the USA embassy to Jerusalem will increase stability and the chance of peace, there’s a real reason to worry that it will do the opposite”, Vox wrote.
The transfer has been extremely controversial, sparking protests all through Palestine at the moment through which 43 individuals have been killed.
“By finally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the United States has chosen fact over fiction”, Pence said. “Meanwhile, Trump celebrates move of United States illegal embassy and his Arab collaborators move to divert attention”, said Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister.
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And UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the move “would jeopardize” the chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
