JERUSALEM/GAZA
At least one Palestinian was killed in the Gaza Strip when Israeli troops used force to disperse Friday demonstrations held across the Palestinian territories.
After Friday prayers, thousands of Palestinians rallied in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem to protest a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump -- announced earlier this week -- to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians marched from the city center to Israel’s Bet Eil army checkpoint.
In several instances, Israeli forces responded to protests with rubber bullets and excessive teargas. In some cases, they fired live ammunition into the air in an effort to disperse demonstrators.
"At least one Palestinian was hurt by live ammunition and 14 others with rubber bullets during clashes that erupted in Ramallah city," the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.
Clashes were reported in several other West Bank cities as well, including Hebron (Al-Khalil), Bethlehem, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya and Jericho.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC), at least three Palestinians were injured by live ammunition in clashes that erupted at the Al-Arroub refugee camp near Hebron.
"In the city of Hebron itself, six others were injured by rubber bullets and live ammunition," the PRC said in a statement.
It went on to note that at least 12 Palestinians had been hurt by rubber bullets in the village of Kafr Qaddoum near Nablus, while another three had sustained similar injuries in Bethlehem.
"So far, a total of 187 Palestinians have suffered excessive teargas inhalation across the West Bank, including 40 in the village of Kasra,” the PRC stated, adding that a total of 30 were hurt by rubber bullets.
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians marched from the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Bab al-Amoud (also known as the Damascus Gate), shouting slogans against Trump’s controversial move and stressing Jerusalem’s Arabic and Muslim identity.
Here, too, Israeli police dispersed protesters using excessive amounts of teargas and occasionally firing live ammunition into the air.
The PRC also said it had provided medical treatment to at least three Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem who were reportedly beaten by Israeli soldiers.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, dozens of Palestinians marched to the Qalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem, where they engaged in limited clashes with Israeli forces.
Earlier Friday, the Israeli authorities stepped up security in and around occupied East Jerusalem in anticipation of widespread Palestinian protests.
According to the Israeli army, limited clashes erupted in 30 different locations throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, during which six Palestinian protesters were arrested.
According to local media reports, Israeli forces were instructed to use minimum force against Palestinian demonstrators.
Protester killed
In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian man was killed after clashes erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces at the enclave’s border crossings.
“Mahmoud al-Masri, 30, was shot in the neck by Israeli forces during clashes that broke out in Khan Younis city,” Ashraf al-Qodra, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry, said in a statement.
“Al-Masri was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was soon pronounced dead,” al-Qodra added.
According to the spokesman, 56 other Palestinians in Gaza were hurt by live ammunition while 95 more suffered from excessive teargas inhalation.
On Wednesday, Trump -- reversing decades of U.S. policy -- announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move Washington’s Israel embassy to the city.
The following day, demonstrations against the move were reported in the occupied Palestinian territories, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
