Scores Killed, Many Injured As U.S Opens Jerusalem Embassy
No fewer than 30 Palestinians have been reportedly killed by Israeli forces as protest erupts at Gaza Strip following U.S. Embassy’s move to Jerusalem.
The Department of State announced that the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem will be dedicated on Monday, May 14, 2018.
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The Office of the Spokesperson for the Department said that Amb. David Friedman would preside over the dedication ceremony.
Top US officials, including Deputy Secretary, John Sullivan Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, President Donald Trump’s daughter and her husband, are attending Monday’s event.
Speaking in a video, President Trump told the guests that the opening of the embassy had been a “long time coming”, adding: “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right to determine its own capital but for many years we failed to recognise the obvious.”
On December 6, 2017, U.S President Donald Trump, announced the recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel and the seat of its government.
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As part of the announcement, the President said the U.S Embassy will be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Palestinians, who consider Jerusalem their capital, have since kicked against the move, going as far as organizing a six-week protest tagged Great March of Return”.
Scores of Palestinians have been killed since the protests began. Thousands more have been wounded.
Monday’s march is meant to express anger over U.S. Embassy’s inauguration, while Tuesday is “Nakba” or Catastrophe Day, when Palestinians observe the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding.
The ceremony commemorates when hundreds of thousands of their people fled their homes or were displaced following the foundation of the Israeli state on 14 May 1948.
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The demonstrations, led by Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, faced stiff opposition from Israeli forces early Monday.
The Israeli Defense Forces accused Hamas of “leading a terrorist operation under the cover of masses of people,” adding that “firebombs and explosive devices” as well as rocks were being thrown towards the fence.
A total of 86 have died and more than 11,200 others wounded since a maiden protest on March 30, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
The Hamas-run health ministry said children were among those killed on Monday.
According to NBC, the protesters say they have continued to turn out for the weekly demonstrations because they have so little to lose. More than a decade under Israeli and then Egyptian blockades has left the enclave’s 2 million people, particularly its youth, largely jobless and hopeless.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is not recognised internationally and, according to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
