Israel and Palestine conflict: Fresh Gaza protests expected after dozens killed in bloodiest day in years

Protests: the violence led to the bloodiest day in Gaza since 2014
AFP/Getty Images
Robin de Peyer15 May 2018

Fresh protests are expected in the Middle East after dozens of Palestinians were killed in a day of bloodshed in the Gaza strip.

Tuesday marks 70 years since the day known as ‘Nakba’ – or ‘catastrophe’ – when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced after Israel was created in 1948.

Tensions in the region are high after the US completed the highly symbolic move of its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on Monday.

The day was marked by deadly protests in which at least 58 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,700 injured along the Gaza border in the deadliest day in the region since 2014.

The protesters claim East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian state, and consider the US’s move to symbolise backing Israeli control over the whole city.

Jerusalem US embassy: Israel-Palestine tensions erupt in violence

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The demonstration came after a weeks-long Palestinian campaign against a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, seized control of Gaza in 2007. Protesters set tyres ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones towards Israeli soldiers across the border.

The Israeli military said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

US President Donald Trump hailed “a great day for Israel” as the new embassy was opened. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was present at the opening in Jerusalem, accused protesters of provoking violence.

Ivanka Trump stands next to an inauguration plaque during the opening with treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin
AFP/Getty Images

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the opening: "What a glorious day. Remember this moment. This is history.”

In a videotaped address, Mr Trump said the embassy move, a key campaign promise, recognises the "plain reality" that Jerusalem is Israel's capital.

Yet he added the United States "remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement".

But Monday's steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move in the Arab world raised new doubts about Mr Trump's ambitions to broker what he called the "deal of the century".

Benjamin Netanyahu attended the ceremony for the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem
EPA

Egypt, an important Israeli ally, condemned the killings of Palestinian protesters, while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, decried the "shocking killing of dozens".

Turkey strongly condemned the US Embassy move, calling it "legally null and void" and said it was recalling its ambassador to the US.

It also recalled its ambassador to Israel following what it called a "massacre" of Palestinians on the Gaza border.

The UN Security Council was due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the violence on Monday.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the council session, which had been called for by Kuwait.

No joint statement or action followed a similar meeting after protests in March, and two UN diplomats said members could not reach unanimous agreement on Monday on issuing a proposed statement circulated by Kuwait.

The draft statement, obtained by The Associated Press news agency, would have expressed "outrage and sorrow" at the killings, sought an "independent and transparent investigation", and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

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