The violence in Gaza that preceded the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem on Monday has once again reminded the world of the dangerous consequences of President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv to the disputed city. When Mr. Trump first announced the shift, making good a campaign promise, many had warned it would trigger violence in the Palestinian Territories besides complicating any peace processes. On Monday morning, across Gaza, a tiny Mediterranean strip that has been suffocatingly blockaded by Israel and Egypt for years, loudspeakers urged Palestinians to rush to the border with Israel and protest. On the border, Israeli soldiers fired into the crowd, killing at least 60 people; it was the worst day of violence since Israel attacked Gaza in 2014. The embassy shift and the disproportionate response at the Gaza border, crucially, came on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, the day to mark the forced eviction of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in 1948. Gaza has been burning for the past few weeks. Dozens of protesters had already been killed before Monday’s incidents. The callous way in which Israel dealt with the protests shows the utter disregard Tel Aviv and the international community have for Palestinian lives.
Shortly after the Gaza violence, at the embassy opening ceremony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t show any remorse over the death of Palestinians. Instead he called it a glorious day, while Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, said that “those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution”, referring to the protesters. The real problem is that there is no meaningful effort to restart the peace process, which is the only way forward to end violence and address the political and humanitarian concerns of the occupied territories. Mr. Trump had promised to make his own peace plan, but his decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which most countries do not recognise as Israel’s capital, has only worsened the crisis. Jerusalem is seen as part of a final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Though the whole city is now under Israeli control, the Palestinians lay claim to East Jerusalem, including the Old City, as their capital. They are now trapped in this cycle of violence. Despite repeated promises from the outside world, they are caught in the status quo — the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the blockade of Gaza. With Mr. Trump recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Palestinians fear that facts on the ground are being manipulated further to their disadvantage. The international community must not remain silent; for starters, there must be an inquiry into the carnage at the Gaza border.
