Arabs condemn Trump move

Peacemaker role of U.S. disputed

A demonstrator carries a Palestinian flag Saturday during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Ramallah, one of several “day of rage” protests in the West Bank and Gaza.
A demonstrator carries a Palestinian flag Saturday during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Ramallah, one of several “day of rage” protests in the West Bank and Gaza.

CAIRO -- Arab foreign ministers on Saturday demanded that the United States rescind President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, calling it a "grave" development that puts Washington on the same side as the Israeli occupation and the violation of international law.

In a strongly worded resolution, the ministers also called for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning Trump's decision.

If the U.S. were to veto such a resolution in the Security Council, the Arabs would seek a similar measure in the U.N. General Assembly, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said at a news conference in Cairo today.

A two-page resolution adopted by the Arab League at its emergency meeting, which began Saturday night, did not include any punitive actions against the United States, such as a call for a boycott of American products or suspending or downgrading ties with Washington.

It also appeared to fall short of matching the anger felt by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which have seen three days of violent protests against Trump's decision.

"We have taken a political decision not meant to reflect [what is going on in] the streets. Political work is responsible work," said Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit. "Jerusalem has been occupied for 50 years. This is an extended battle, a battle that will be escalated," he said at the news conference.

The resolution said the ministers would meet again within a month and held out the possibility that an emergency Arab summit would be held in Jordan to discuss the Jerusalem issue.

Arab diplomats said some Arab League members had wanted the resolution to include punitive measures against any country that follows the U.S.' example and recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

That, according to the diplomats, was considered too radical by moderate Arab nations and was eventually dropped. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Trump's decision, the resolution said, stripped the U.S. of its role as a "sponsor and broker" in the Middle East peace process.

"It undermines efforts to bring about peace, deepens tension and will spark anger that will threaten to push the region to the edge of the abyss of violence, chaos and bloodshed."

Trump's announcement on Jerusalem, and his intention to move the U.S. Embassy there, triggered denunciations from around the world, with even close allies suggesting he had needlessly stirred more conflict in an already volatile region.

The status of the city lies at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Trump's move was widely perceived as siding with Israel. Even small disputes over Jerusalem's status and that of the holy sites in its ancient Old City have sparked deadly bloodshed in the past.

In speech after speech, foreign ministers for the nearly 20 member states of the Arab League delivered criticism of Trump's decision, talk of the need for concrete action and musings on whether fiery speeches would change anything.

"If we do nothing about this one [Trump's decision], there will be many, many more tragedies," warned Iraq's foreign minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. "No normalization [with Israel] and no compromises."

Lebanon's foreign minister, Gibran Bassil, suggested that there might be a silver lining in the latest crisis to hit the Arab world, which has been locked in conflict with Israel for nearly 70 years.

"Could this calamity bring us together and wake us from our slumber?" he said at the meeting.

Earlier, Aboul-Gheit and Al-Maliki called on nations around the world to recognize a State of Palestine, with east Jerusalem as its capital, in response to Trump's decision.

Aboul-Gheit said Trump's decision "condemned" the U.S. and its administration. He said it also raised a question mark over Washington's role as a peace mediator.

"The decision amounts to the legalization of occupation," said Aboul-Gheit, alluding to the occupation and later annexation of east Jerusalem by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

The resolution adopted by the ministers reiterated that only the creation of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital would end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Most countries have not recognized Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem and maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. Under a long-standing international consensus, the fate of the city is to be determined in peace negotiations.

In a sign of Palestinian frustration with the Americans, political adviser Majdi Khaldi said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not meet with Vice President Mike Pence when he visits the region later this month.

"The U.S. crossed the red line in its decision about Jerusalem," he said.

Egypt's Coptic Church said Saturday that its pope had also canceled a meeting scheduled with Pence when he travels on to Cairo, mirroring a decision Friday by the head of al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's top seat of learning. The Coptic Church said the U.S. decision did not take into account the "feelings of millions of Arab people."

STRIKES ON GAZA

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes killed two Hamas members early Saturday after a rocket attack on Israel, the latest in the fallout roiling the region after Trump's decision.

The Israeli military said it targeted four Hamas facilities in response to rockets fired the previous night, including one that landed in the town of Sderot without causing casualties or major damage. The military said it struck warehouses and weapons manufacturing sites, after which Hamas said it had recovered the bodies of two of its men.

In a strike Saturday that hit a military facility in a built-up area, 15 people were injured, including a child, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel considers Hamas responsible for all rocket fire emanating from Gaza, which is home to other armed groups. Some residents of Sderot and other border towns spent the night in shelters, fearful of a resumption of rocket attacks from Gaza that have led to three Israel-Hamas wars over the past decade.

Protests and demonstrations continued across the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday on the third and final Palestinian "day of rage" after Trump's announcement. The military said there were clashes in about 20 locations. In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades. The Israeli military said about 600 Palestinians were throwing firebombs and rolling burning tires toward Israeli forces. It said it dispersed the crowds and arrested six rioters.

Along the border with the Gaza Strip, about 450 Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops at eight main locations, injuring about 20 people. About 4,000 demonstrators gathered in Gaza City, and demonstrations resumed in Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere across the Muslim world, as well.

Saturday saw a drop in the scope of the protests after clashes broke out Friday between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in dozens of West Bank hot spots and along the Gaza border. Two Palestinians were shot dead in Gaza, and dozens were injured in the West Bank.

Hazim Qasem, a spokesman for Hamas, said Israel will suffer the consequences of the escalation, saying the airstrikes and the deaths of the demonstrators come in the context of "ongoing crimes" against the people of Gaza. He accused the United States of giving Israel "cover for these crimes."

The "uprising" of Palestinians shows that "Palestinian people are ready to redeem Jerusalem with their blood, and their families will not surrender in their confrontation with the occupation," Qasem said.

Israel, citing security concerns, has imposed restrictions on the freedom of movement and import of goods into Gaza since Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007. Egypt has also rarely opened its border crossing with Gaza in recent years.

In Jerusalem, police forces scuffled with protesters near the Old City and arrested 13 people who were involved in what authorities called an illegal protest. Four police officers were injured, a police spokesman said. A Palestinian medic on the scene said eight people had been hurt, with two sent to hospitals for treatment.

In a first, violence spilled into Israel itself, with Arab protesters blocking a major highway in the northern part of the country and hurling rocks at a bus and motorcycle rider, injuring two people. Israel has mobilized troops in case further violence breaks out. However, the clashes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have yet to claim lives or spiral into the level of violence some had feared after Trump's move.

In Lebanon, a visit from a powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militant commander sparked harsh criticism from Lebanon's prime minister, who ordered him banned from entering the country.

Qais al-Khazali, the commander of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, appeared in military uniform in a video while touring the border with Israel along with members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and expressed support for the Lebanese and Palestinians against the Jewish state.

The visit was blasted by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who said in a statement that it is a "flagrant violation" of Lebanese laws, adding that the appearance happened six days ago, before Trump's decision. Jawad al-Tlebawy, a spokesman for Asaib Ahl al-Haq in Baghdad, said the trip occurred after that.

Information for this article was contributed by Fares Akram, Aron Heller, Hamza Hendawi, Bassem Mroue and Qassim Abdul-zahra of The Associated Press; and by Hazem Balousha and Loveday Morris of The Washington Post.

photo

AP/MAHMOUD ILLEAN

An Israeli police officer grabs a Palestinian protester Saturday in Jerusalem during a third day of demonstrations.

A Section on 12/10/2017

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