Israeli Army Attacks Protests Against US Jerusalem Decision, VP Visit

Rasa - Several Palestinians Tuesday suffocated by tear gas as Israeli army used force to disperse People who were protesting Washington decision on Jerusalem and US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the city of Jerusalem.

News ID: 436000

Date: 25 January 2018 - 02:34

RNA - In Ramallah’s al-Bireh, Israeli forces heavily fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters at protesters, causing several suffocation cases among them, WAFA reported.

Several other Palestinians suffocated during similar rallies that were violently suppressed by forces in the Hebron area.

Clashes also broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces in Bab al-Zawyeh area, in central Hebron, and in the town of Sair.

Israeli soldiers reportedly took over the rooftops of a number of homes, and attacked residents with tear gas canisters and stun grenades, causing many to suffocate.

A general strike was observed throughout Palestine on Tuesday in protest against a visit by United States Vice President to the old city of Jerusalem and Washington recognition of the holy city as capital of Israel.

Israeli police also imposed strict movement and security restrictions in the Old City area in Jerusalem, which included the closure of many roads leading to Palestinian neighborhoods, as Pence arrived in Jerusalem.

The US Vice President visited the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday. Pence's visit to the site took place without the presence of any Israeli political leaders, just like the visit US President Donald Trump made to the holy site in May 2017.

The Palestinian Authority also refused to meet with Pence in his visit in protest against the US move on Jerusalem.

Less than two months after Trump formally recognized the city as the capital of Israel, Pence said the US Embassy in Israel will relocate to Jerusalem next year.

US President Donald Trump announced early December 2017 that Washington would be recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, stressing that the United States would relocate the embassy in the occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of the international community as one which undermines the peace talks.

Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across the international community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West have criticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous region into new upheaval.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Turkey's Istanbul, declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the US to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution condemning Trump’s decision and called on states not to move their diplomatic missions to the sacred city. The UNGA vote followed the US veto of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution.

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