Hundreds of Palestinians Injured in Clashes with Israeli Forces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli occupying forces during demonstrations held on Saturday, third day following the US President Donald Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem (al-Quds) as capital of Israel.
At least 140 Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Zionist regime forces in East Jerusalem (East al-Quds) and the West Bank, Palestinian sources declared Saturday. Meantime, up to 20 people were injured in the Gaza Strip, local medical sources announced.
Four Israeli officers were also injured during clashes in East al-Quds, the Israeli police declared.
Violent protests broke out Saturday in over 20 sites in the West Bank, including Tul Karm and Rachel's Tomb (Bilal bin Rabah mosque) in Bethlehem, with hundreds of Palestinians burning tires and throwing rocks as well as Molotov cocktails at occupying forces of Zionist regime.
The Israeli occupying forces has arrested one individual. According to the Red Crescent, 18 Palestinians were wounded by rubber bullets and over 107 from tear gas.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinian protested in over five different locations along the Gaza border, they were also burning tires and throwing rocks at Israeli occupying forces on Saturday. Israeli forces reportedly responded by firing rubber bullets and live rounds as well.
Protests were held in Ramallah, Hebron (al-Khalil) and the Israeli Bedouin city of Rahat on Saturday, as well as in al-Quds.
In another development, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Saturday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not meet US Vice President Mike Pence during Pence’s visit to the region this month in reaction to the US move.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said the Palestinians will be looking for a new peace talks broker instead of the United States and would seek a United Nations Security Council resolution over Trump’s decision.
“We will seek a new mediator from our Arab brothers and the international community,” Maliki told reporters in Cairo before the Arab League meeting on Trump’s Quds decision.
The Palestinians are pushing for a UN Security Council resolution demanding that the US rescind its declaration that Quds is Israel’s capital.
Fourteen of the council’s 15 members condemned the move in an emergency meeting in New York on Friday, which was also attended by PLO Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour.
“We will come back to the Security Council,” Mansour said.
Movement on a Quds resolution will be taken after Saturday’s meeting of the Arab League in Cairo and Wednesday’s summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Turkey, he said.
The Palestinians plan to ask the Security Council to reaffirm past resolutions against Israeli sovereignty in Quds and to demand that the US rescind its statement.
The matter is likely to return soon to the Security Council, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told the Russian news agency TASS.
Islamic and Arab countries have also showed reaction to Trump’s anti-Palestinian measure and the Arab League condemned the US Quds move.
The head of the Arab League has called Trump's decision "dangerous and unacceptable" and a "flagrant attack on a political solution" to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
The statement by Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the regional bloc's secretary-general, came after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from 22 Arab states in Egypt's capital, Cairo, on Saturday.
Aboul-Gheit said Trump's decision was "against international law and raises questions over American efforts to support peace" between Palestine and Israel.
On Wednesday, Trump announced US recognition of al-Quds as Israel’s capital as well as plans to relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Quds.
The controversial decision has angered Muslims throughout the world.
