Muslims took to the streets from the West Bank to Jakarta on Friday to protest U. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Protesters scuffled with Israeli forces in several West Bank cities, where groups of masked youths threw rocks and burned tires. Troops fired tear gas and water cannon in response. But the “day of rage” called by Palestinian political movements drew relatively small crowds. In Jerusalem, where Israeli police had added reinforcements, no serious disturbances were reported.
In the Gaza Strip, whose militant Hamas rulers had called for a new uprising, or intifada, against Israel in response to Trump’s move, mosques appealed through loudspeakers for residents to rally in support of Jerusalem. Dozens of young men headed to areas bordering Israel to protest, and one man was critically injured in a confrontation with Israeli forces, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry said.
“Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of the Zionist entity is an ominous declaration that is playing with fire,” said Ahmad Bahar, a senior Hamas leader. “By declaring that Jerusalem is the capital of the Zionist entity, he is digging his grave with his own hand.”
Trump’s landmark announcement on Wednesday, including starting the process of moving the U. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, was a stark departure from nearly 70 years of U. Predecessors had made similar promises but ultimately balked, fearful of inflaming Muslim passions and alienating Muslim allies. Muslim and European allies denounced the move.
Trump’s Bet
While U. officials said they were only giving expression to facts on the ground, Trump appears to be betting that key Arab allies in the Middle East won’t take drastic action, either because they are too distracted by other regional disputes or because they don’t want to risk jeopardizing U. support against Iran and Islamist extremists.
Still, the move has drawn criticism across the Muslim world, where demonstrators turned out in greater force on Friday, the Muslim holy day. Hundreds protested outside the U. embassies in Malaysia and Indonesia, and protesters also gathered in Baghdad, southern Lebanon and Iran, Hezbollah-affiliated Mayadeen TV reported.
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In one Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, demonstrators stomped on a picture of Trump and in predominantly Palestinian Jordan, thousands rallied in the capital, Amman, and elsewhere around the country, and some protesters burned U.S and Israeli flags.
Friday Prayers
Hundreds of protesters poured out of Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo after Friday prayers, some carrying Palestinian flags and chanting, “with soul, with blood, we will avenge you, oh Palestine.”
In Tunisia, President Beji Caid Essebsi summoned the U. ambassador to complain about the decision, adviser Noureddine Ben Ticha told Radio Chams.
While Trump said his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital wasn’t meant to prejudge a final resolution of the city’s status, Palestinians were stung by what they saw as an American adoption of Israel’s position, and some officials have declared the end of peace efforts.
On Thursday, Hamas called for a third intifada, though it wasn’t clear the appeal would resonate. Thousands of Palestinians and Israelis were killed in two earlier uprisings against Israel.
— With assistance by Donna Abu-Nasr, Lin Noueihed, and Mohammad Tayseer.
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