FIVE KEY DEVELOPMENTS SINCE TRUMP'S JERUSALEM MOVE
Violence,
protests and arrests have followed US President Donald Trump's decision to
recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Donald
Trump made the announcement on December 6 and said the US would begin the
process of moving its embassy to the city from Tel Aviv.
The
decision broke with decades of US policy on Jerusalem.
The
international community has never recognised Israel's claim to the entire city.
Under
the 1947 UN Partition Plan to divide historical Palestine between Jewish and
Arab states, Jerusalem was granted special status and was meant to be placed
under international sovereignty and control.
This
status was based on the city's religious importance to the three Abrahamic
religions; Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Palestinians
see East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, as the
capital of their future state. Israel meanwhile insists that the city is its
indivisible capital.
Here
are five key developments since Trump's announcement:
Protests
A
wave of anger spread from the Middle East to the rest of the world in the days
following President Trump's announcement. More than a week on, tens of
thousands continue to demonstrate.
Solidarity
rallies have spread as far as Istanbul, Jakarta, Karachi, Rabat, Chicago and
Tokyo.
In
the Middle East, protesters took to the streets of Amman, Beirut, the occupied
West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza.
While
Friday is a key day for rallies in the Muslim world, protesters have taken to
the streets daily in the occupied Palestinian territories, prompting the
excessive use of force by Israeli security.
On
December 14, they closed Gaza's border crossings for goods and pedestrians.
The Palestinian Red Crescent has provided medical assistance to more than 1,933 people in the Palestinian territories since Trump's announcement [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters] |
Rockets and deadly air raids
Israel
launched a series of air raids, some of which turned deadly, against
Palestinian targets in the days following Trump's announcement.
Israeli
officials claim these raids were in response to rockets from inside the Gaza
Strip.
On
December 14, Israel struck a number of Hamas sites, including a naval facility
and a military base near the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.
More
than 10 attacks were carried out in total, leading to at least two deaths (see
below) and damage to sites and nearby houses, according to a Palestinian
security source.
Israeli security forces have arrested more than 260 Palestinians since Trump's decision [Mohammed Salem/Reuters] |
Deaths
and injuries
At
least four Palestinians have been killed by Israel since Trump's announcement,
according to the Palestinian health ministry.
On
December 8, two Hamas fighters were killed in an Israeli air raid on the
besieged Gaza Strip.
The
individuals killed were identified as Mahmoud al-Atal, 28 and Mohammed Safadi,
30.
Israeli
troops shot and killed two other Palestinians on the same day amid protests on
the Israel-Palestine border.
The
Palestinian Red Crescent has provided medical assistance to more than 1,933
people across the West Bank and Gaza Strip since Washington's policy change,
according to the group.
Arrests
Israeli
security forces have arrested more than 260 Palestinians from the occupied West
Bank and East Jerusalem since Trump's declaration, according to a statement
made by the Palestinian Prisoners Society on December 13.
Several
of those arrested are children, including 16-year-old Fawzi al-Junaidi. An
image of the teenager, blindfolded and surrounded by more than 20 Israeli
occupation forces, was widely denounced as it was shared on social media
earlier this week. He has denied charges of throwing stones.
Al-Junaidi was charged with throwing stones at a group of armed Israeli soldiers |
Muslim leaders' denouncement
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called an extraordinary summit of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for December 13 following Trump's
decision on Jerusalem.
During
the meeting in Istanbul, the 57-member group denounced Trump's move as
"null and void" and called on the United Nations to "end the
Israeli occupation" of Palestine.
Muslim
leaders warned that Trump's administration will be liable for "all the
consequences of not retracting from this illegal decision", saying they
remain committed to a "just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state
solution".
Founded
in 1969, the OIC bills itself as "the collective voice of the Muslim
world".
Turkey's
Hurriyet newspaper reported on Friday that Erdogan will launch initiatives at
the United Nations to have Washington's "disgraceful" decision
annulled.
"As
a country, we are determined to do our bit on this issue. We will wash the
dirty laundry of those who breach international law," Erdogan said in a
speech on Friday.
"We
will work to annul this unlawful decision, first in the Security Council and
then in the UN General Assembly if it is vetoed there."
He
added that Ankara will encourage other countries to recognise the Palestinian
state.
"Right
now, 137 countries in the world recognise the Palestinian state. God willing,
this number will further increase with our efforts," he said.
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