Deadliest day since 2014 war as US moves embassy to Jerusalem

US embassy opening in Jerusalem provokes deadliest day in the ­Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2014 with at least 55 dead.

UPDATE: The White House has blamed Hamas for violent protests in Gaza that saw 55 Palestinians killed and thousands injured by Israeli forces, saying the Jewish state has the right to defend itself.

“The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said, refusing to call on Israel to show restraint.

The deadliest day in the ­Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas came as US President Donald Trump hailed the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem as “a great day for Israel”.

As tens of thousansd of Palestinians joined the Gaza protests on the border, at least 2,400 were injured and 55 killed as Israeli soldiers and snipers used live ammunition and barrages of tear gas to keep protesters from entering Israeli territory.

Mr Shah said: “Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response. Israel has the right to defend itself, ” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world leaders to follow the US example and move their embassies to Jerusalem, claiming recognising the city as the capital of Israel would be the first step to peace.

In the wake of the clashes, Turkey and South Africa recalled their ambassadors, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing Israel of “state terror” and “genocide”, and the South Africa government blaming “violent aggression” by the Israeli armed forces against peaceful protesters.

Mr Erdogan also announced three days of national mourning over the deaths, as well as a giant protest in Istanbul on Friday.

“Israel is wreaking state terror. Israel is a terror state,” Mr Erdogan told Turkish students in London in a speech broadcast by state television.

“What Israel has done is a genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America,” he added.

South Africa’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “The victims were taking part in a peaceful protest against the provocative inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem,” and condemnded “violent aggression carried out by Israeli armed forces”.

“This latest attack has resulted in scores of other Palestinian citizens reported injured, and the wanton destruction of property,” it added.

Mr Shah insisted the latest violence would not impact the administration’s peace plan for the region.

“The peace plan will be brought forward at the appropriate time, it can be evaluated on its merits,” he said.

“The actions today -- both the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem and these tragedies in southern Israel -- we don’t think it will impact the peace plan.”

Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces, cast doubt on the casualty numbers from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry; saying a large number of the injured had only suffered gas inhalation.

Tear gas is fired at protestors during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel. Picture: AFP.

Deadliest day since 2014

Thirty-seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire last night as tens of thousands protested and clashes erupted along the Gaza border with Israel against the US transfer of its embassy to Jerusalem.

The deadliest day in the ­Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas came as US President Donald Trump hailed the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem as “a great day for Israel”.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 37 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and hundreds more wounded amid mass protests on the border, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world leaders to follow the US example and move their embassies to Jerusalem, claiming recognising the city as the capital of Israel would be the first step to peace.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said ealier the army was expecting protesters to try to breach Israel’s border, and it had deployed three additional infantry brigades to the borders of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. About 1000 police were positioned around the US embassy after scuffles on the Temple Mount between Israelis and Muslim security forces.

As thousands of Israelis took to the streets to celebrate Mr Trump’s decision, Turkey said the US shared responsibility with Is­rael over the Gaza “massacre”.

Hours before the new US embassy open in Jerusalem late last night, Mr Netanyahu thanked Ivanka Trump and the rest of the US delegation for strengthening the alliance with Washington.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most inflammatory issues in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as the city is claimed by both sides as their capital.

Since the creation of Israel in 1948, the UN has defined Jerusalem as an international city due to the religious significance it holds for Jews, Muslims and Christians. Most of Europe has opposed the US embassy move. Only four ambassadors from the EU decided to attend the inauguration overnight — Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary.

The US embassy was opened by a delegation including Ms Trump, her husband, Jared Kushner, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

US Senate candidate Mitt Romney said a prominent Baptist minister should not give the prayer that opens the embassy because he’s a “religious bigot”. In a tweet yesterday, he criticised Dallas minister Robert Jeffress for remarks about Jews, Mormons and Islam. “Robert Jeffress says ‘you can’t be saved by being a Jew’, and ‘Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell’. He’s said the same about Islam,” Mr Romney wrote.

The liberal group Media Matters said Mr Jeffress made the remarks cited by Mr Romney in a 2011 speech at the conservative Values Voter Summit.

Mr Jeffress responded in a tweet, saying “salvation is through faith in Christ alone”. “The fact that I, along with tens of millions of evangelical Christians around the world, continue to espouse that belief, is neither bigoted nor newsworthy,” he wrote.

At a ceremony yesterday, Mr Netanyahu said: “I call on all countries to join the US in moving their embassies to Jerusalem. It’s the right thing to do ... because it advances peace.”

Mr Mnuchin replied: “The US has no greater partner than Israel — nothing is more important.”

The embassy was opened a day before the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when Palestinians mourn the establishment of the state of Israel, which forced hundreds of thousands to flee their ancestral homes.

Despite the growing violence and fears it will end any attempts at a fresh peace process, Mr Netanyahu’s popularity in Israel has soared. In February many believed he was weeks away from being forced out of office, after the police recommended he be indicted on two corruption charges. But last a poll cited by Army Radio said if elections were held now his Likud party would win 42 seats, a significant rise on the 30 seats it presently holds in the Knesset. A Hadshot TV news survey said Likud would secure at least 35 seats.

Israel has experienced improved relations with the US after a frosty period under Barack Obama. Buildings around the new embassy are covered with posters saying Mr Trump “is a friend of Zion”, and the city’s mayor said the street opposite the embassy would be named after the US leader.

Israeli Construction Minister Yoav Galant said: “We are very lucky that the strongest kid in the classroom is our friend. We don’t have a friend outside of the US. This is very important.”

The Times, AP