Israelis intensify crackdown on Palestinians amid protests to Trump’s al-Quds decision

Tabnak – As international protests to US President Donald Trump’s recognition of al-Quds/Jerusalem as the capital of Israeli regime are still going on, the Israelis have intensified the crackdown on Palestinians in different parts of the occupied lands.

According to Press TV, At least two Palestinians have been killed and about 770 others have sustained injuries when clashes broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinians demonstrating in protest against Trump’s recent decision.

Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Palestinians staged rallies in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, located 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jerusalem al-Quds, Bethlehem, Nablus, al-Khalil (Hebron).

Hundreds of people marched from Ramallah downtown to Israel’s Bet Eil army checkpoint after Friday noon prayers. Clashes reportedly erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces across the West Bank, including the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya and Ariha (Jericho).

Meanwhile, it is reported that Israeli forces fired artillery shells at a checkpoint belonging to Palestinian resistance forces in the northeast of the town of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, on Friday night.

An Israeli jet also targeted a group of resistance fighters in the east of Beit Hanoun, the Palestinian Information Center said, adding that they survived the air strike. Palestinian sources said Israel also carried out an air strike on the town of Beit Lahia. Three Israeli rockets were fired at Shaikh Zayed area in northern Gaza.

Reuters cited the Palestinian Health Ministry as saying that 25 Palestinians, including six children, were injured in the attacks.

The Israeli army however claimed Israeli aircraft had targeted what it identified as four facilities belonging to Hamas -- the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza -- early Saturday in response to rockets fired into southern Israel from Gaza.

Trump's decision Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and commit to moving the US Embassy to the holy city has prompted international condemnation and sparked protests in countries around the globe, from Indonesia and Malaysia to Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt.

In this vein, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement Friday that the US is no longer qualified to sponsor a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

Thousands of people across the Middle East took to the streets on Friday, the Muslim holy day, to protest the move by Trump, the first world leader since Israel's founding to declare Jerusalem the country's capital. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Al-Jazeera TV on Friday that the Palestinians will cease communication with the US until Trump reverses his decision.

Observers believe that the latest move by Trump administration will likely add to growing unease among the Palestinians that a US-brokered deal with Israel will be unfavorable to them.