Jerusalem awaits ‘day of rage’ as Pence told to stay away

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Palestinian factions have called for a “day of rage” in Jerusalem on Friday, following protests on Thursday in which at least 31 people were injured by Israeli gunfire and rubber bullets.

The Islamist group Hamas has urged Palestinians to abandon peace efforts and launch a new intifada against Israel in response to US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as its capital.

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On Friday's "day of rage," rallies and protests are expected near Israeli-controlled checkpoints in the West Bank and along the border with Gaza. Friday prayers at the Muslim shrine of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem could also be a flashpoint.

The UN Security Council is expected to meet on Friday to discuss Trump’s decision and its ramifications.

Pence ‘not welcome’

A senior Palestinian official with Fatah said that US Vice President Mike Pence, due to visit the region later this month, was "unwelcome in Palestine."

A spokesman for Pence said the vice president was planning to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a trip scheduled for late December.

Vice President Mike Pence joined Donald Trump ‪as the US president delivered remarks recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the White House in Washington, US on December 6, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Pence "still intends to meet Mr Abbas and Palestinian leaders and thinks any decision to pull out of the meeting would be counterproductive," a White House official said.

The vice president is understood to have been a leading proponent of relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem, a move the Arab League has described as dangerous and warned of violent consequences.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Trump stressed in a call to Abbas on Tuesday that Palestinians stood to gain from the peace plan that Kushner and US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt were crafting.

Trump failed to provide details, but reportedly told Abbas that the final peace blueprint would offer the Palestinians an important settlement that they would be pleased with.

Former US president hits out

Former US President Jimmy Carter on Thursday warned that relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem “jeopardizes any prospect for peace” in the region.

Carter added that the move “exacerbates tensions” and “damages the credibility of the US as an effective mediator.”

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Abbas said on Wednesday the United States had abdicated its role as a mediator in peace efforts.

Hamas calls for intifada

Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2007, called for a third intifada after Trump reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

"We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada (Palestinian uprising) in the face of the Zionist enemy," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a speech in Gaza.

"Palestine will not be divided and the whole of Palestine and the whole of Jerusalem are the property of the Palestinian people," he added. "It is a declaration of war against our Palestinian people in their holiest of holy places of the Christians and Muslims."

A Palestinian protester takes cover during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel near the West Bank city of Ramallah on December 7, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist and its suicide bombings helped spearhead the last intifada, from 2000 to 2005.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah backed calls for a new intafada and said: "We are facing blatant American aggression."

Fearing disruption to reconciliation efforts between Hamas and Fatah, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah and other Fatah delegates arrived in Gaza on Thursday to meet Hamas.

Naser Al-Qidwa, an aide to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior official in his Fatah party, urged Palestinians to stage peaceful protests.

Israel planning new house-building

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump's announcement as a "historic landmark" and said many countries would follow the US move and contacts were under way.

The White House said it was not aware of any other country that planned to follow Trump's lead.

Meanwhile, Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Gallant said he would next week bring to the Cabinet for approval 14,000 housing units, some 6,000 of which are slated for construction in areas in Arab East Jerusalem and are already at various planning stages.

"Following President Trump's historic declaration, I intend to promote and reinforce building in Jerusalem," Gallant said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)