At least 37 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured by Israeli forces in clashes at the Israel-Gaza border, the Gaza Health Ministry have said.
Palestinians in Gaza and across the West Bank are protesting against the decision by the US to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which will make it more difficult for the Palestinians to have their own capital in East Jerusalem at a later date.
The Palestinians see the Trump’s controversial decision to move the embassy as a betrayal of the peace process by the US, which still claims to be an independent and “honest broker” despite its public move to back Israeli ambitions over those of the Palestinians.
Today’s protests are the latest in six weeks of demonstrations by Palestinians in Gaza in a Hamas-organised campaign known as the “Great March of Return”. The daily protests have often ended in violence, with Palestinians hurling stones and firebombs at Israeli soldiers, who have used live ammunition on the crowds.
Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed over 100 Palestinians, including children, in the coastal enclave and wounded more than 10,000, with today the most deadly yet.
The Israeli army said 35,000 Palestinians were taking part in today’s demonstrations, which it described as “violent riots”.
