58 killed in Gaza deadliest day of violence

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Europe

00:45

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the US embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with regional power Turkey calling it "a massacre".

A woman holds a Palestinian flag as a protester burns tires near the Israeli border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Monday, May 14, 2018. /AP Photo

The White House pinned the blame squarely on Gaza's ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli military's actions as self-defense of his country's borders.

Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the US Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by US President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

US Senator Tim Kaine, the top Democrat on the foreign relations subcommittee that covers the region, said the situation was "tragic" and said "It’s not viewed as the US trying to solve a problem, it’s viewed as the US just stepping away from the problem"

Palestinian demonstrators take cover from Israeli fire and tear gas during a protest against US embassy move to Jerusalem in the southern Gaza Strip, May 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, as its "eternal and indivisible capital".

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Calls for restraint

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States had opened an "American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem". He announced a general strike on Tuesday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds an urgent cabinet meeting in Ramallah, West Bank, May 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

French President Emmanuel Macron said he plans to talk to all involved parties in the region over the next few days.

Britain said it had no plans to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and disagreed with the US decision to do so.

Turkey accused Israeli security forces of carrying out a massacre and said the US embassy move had encouraged them.

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted UN Security Council statement that would have expressed “outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians” and called for an independent and transparent investigation, UN diplomats said. More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza strip, which is blockaded by Egypt and Israel.

The Trump administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is undecided on how and when to roll it out.

Source(s): AP ,Reuters