For the second consecutive week, President Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel has fueled massive Palestinian protests on Friday. For the second consecutive week, Israel responded militarily, shooting at the demonstrators.
Four Palestinian protesters were confirmed killed, and 160 others wounded, as Israeli troops opened fire on demonstrators in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. All four killed were said to have been killed with live gunfire.
The bulk of the casualties were at the Israeli-Gaza border, where thousands of Gazans rallied along the border fence, and at least 150 were wounded when Israeli troops opened fire. Among the two slain in Gaza was a man in a wheelchair.
The Israeli military said 3,500 protesters were at the Gaza border, and insisted that the troops ‘fired selectively” into the crowd, shooting the “main instigators.”
One of the dead in the West Bank was accused of having had a knife and “what looked like a bomb belt,” though medics later confirmed that the bomb belt was fake.
Trump’s “meaningless” gesture certainly has meaning for the relatives of the dead. But never mind, it isn’t Justin’s relatives.
Not really a fair shot; Raimondo may have friends and relatives in Israel as well as supportive Palestinian readers.
Trump’s announcement is a big move, yet at the same time not really. It popped the peace process bubble real good, but the peace process was always a farce.
Lets not forget, Palestinians have always been dying.
Those four might have lived a few more days without the announcement. I’m thinking I’d want a few more days. That’s as far as I can see.
Its better to live for a just cause but if violent death must come, let it mean something for those left to live that cause.
They don’t fear martyrdom; at least, they don’t claim to. I can respect their perspective in these cases; they didn’t go out with the intent to mass murder as martyrdom was becoming redefined under the IS.
Just the partners we need.
Thanks Trump.
This has happened before; the Intifadas. What’s different now is that the Palestinians seem to be being invited/incited to demonstrate their powerlessness. Then once demonstrated, their leadership will be given ‘the talk’ behind closed doors, if it isn’t happening already.
The one-state solution has gone from under the table to top of the table, to counter the Chinese/Eurasian century. With Chinese trading fairly with Palestine as well as Israel, and Palestine having rights to offshore natural gas reserves, it was kind of inevitable.
It makes no difference under a President Trump or anyone else; this moment was coming. As early as 1995 the U.S. Congress and Senate had passed the “Jerusalem Embassy Act”, a law – not a mere resolution – that the U.S. Embassy be moved to Jerusalem.
That makes it the will of the American People; getting angry at Trump and not the Congress and Senate as well, makes no sense. If anything, Trump is doing his job and following the bipartisan will of the American people.
The JEA was held back only by Presidential Waiver under the Constitutional argument that foreign affairs is an Executive power, not to be transgressed by the Legislative Branch, and merely advisory. It has now become the only gambit that stymies a strong Eurasia in the Levant.
An independent Palestine that is not a U.S./Israeli puppet state and forever forestalling total annexation will not be tolerated. The safest way to remove that possibility altogether is the one-state solution; removing a Palestinian state entirely from the equation.
Right now Palestine is a “Non-member observer state” in the UN, equivalent to the Vatican’s Holy See, which is the closest they could get to UN state recognition. The U.S. has been able to avoid having to use its UNSC veto, as Palestinian efforts for UN recognition have always fallen short of the minimum UNSC votes for recognition to require vetoing.
So far, the world does nothing but watch the Palestinians riot. The real action is behind closed doors and will be primarily determined by the U.S./Israel, Russia and China.
Only 4 dead? The IDF must be slipping.