Israeli snipers have killed dozens of protesters near the Gaza border with more than a thousand more injured
Mass protests taking place with Palestinian government accusing Israel of committing a ‘terrible massacre’
Comes after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri called for group’s followers to carry out jihad against the US
Russia says embassy move risks increasing Middle East tension as Turkey says US is now ‘part of the problem’
The Arab League is planning to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss America’s ‘illegal’ embassy move
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Israeli snipers have killed 37 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more as 35,000 protesters rallied against the US Embassy opening in Jerusalem overseen by Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka.
A 14-year-old was among 37 killed along the Gaza border on what is already the deadliest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas.
At least 1,300 more have been injured with about 450 of them by live bullets, according to Gaza officials as the Palestinian government accused Israel of committing a ‘terrible massacre’ and Amnesty International called the bloodshed an ‘abhorrent violation’ of human rights.
This afternoon a White House delegation – including Ivanka Trump and her husband – gathered for an inauguration ceremony for the opening of the new embassy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also in the audience.
The US President tossed aside decades of precedent when he recognised the city as Israel’s capital in December – a decision that sparked global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis.
Russia said today it feared the embassy opening would increase tension in the Middle East while Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan warned the US it had forfeited its role as a mediator in the region and was now ‘part of the problem rather than the solution’.
As deadly clashes broke out this morning, Trump, in a tweet, hailed the opening as ‘a great day for Israel’. Trump made no reference to the violence in an early morning tweet, instead inviting Twitter followers to watch live coverage of the embassy opening.