The West Bank erupted in violence on Thursday, following President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that Jerusalem would be recognized as Israel’s capital, and then the Palestinian Authority calling for a general strike in Palestinian cities.
The Washington Post reported that Palestinian protesters battled Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem, Ramallah and other places in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On the edge of Ramallah, Israeli forces fired dozens of rounds of tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of gathering Palestinian protesters.
BBC News reported clashes taking place in the Gaza Strip, and across the West Bank, with reports of protesters throwing stones and setting tires on fire.
The Guardian reported that the most violent confrontations occurred in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, where Israeli security forces fired teargas and plastic-coated rounds as hundreds of protesters threw stones and set fire to barricades.
In the Gaza Strip, dozens of protesters gathered near the border fence with Israel and threw rocks at soldiers on the other side, The Guardian said. Two protesters were wounded by live fire, with one reported to be in a critical condition.
The Times of Israel reported that Israel Defense Forces were deploying battalions to the West Bank as clashes and scuffles broke out across there and in East Jerusalem.
A fresh round of violent protests was expected on Friday at mass demonstrations called to follow Friday prayers, The Guardian said.
The Islamist Hamas’ leader has urged the movement’s followers to rise up against Israel.
“We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada in the face of the Zionist enemy,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a speech from Gaza on Thursday, The Independent reported. “This will not stop until the liberation of Jerusalem and the West Bank.”
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