Massacre on the Israel-Gaza border by transfer of the US Embassy
The inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem, which fulfills one of the most controversial promises of President Donald Trump, caused a bloodbath in Gaza on Monday where at least 52 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers firing on the bloodiest day in years. The dramatic balance on this day of celebrations on the Israeli and American side is the deadliest of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip.
While American and Israeli officials celebrated a "historic" moment and the strength of their alliance under a large white tent planted on the grounds of the new embassy in Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Palestinians protested a few kilometers away, in the strip of Gaza blocked. The most daring, risking their lives, faced the firing of Israeli soldiers throwing stones and trying to force the strong security device in the area. Israel had warned that it would use "all means" to protect its soldiers and the barrier.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 52 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire on the border with Israel, and hundreds were injured. The dead include "eight children under 16 years," said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN. The decision of the United States, denounced and criticized by almost the entire international community, breaks with decades of US diplomacy and international consensus. For now, only Guatemala and Paraguay have committed to imitate the United States and move their embassy to the Holy City.
The Israelis see in the American decision the recognition of a historical reality of 3,000 years for the Jewish people. This coincides with the 70th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, in full nationalist enthusiasm and pro-American fervor. But the United States unilateral initiative caused great displeasure among the Palestinians, who consider it the result of the extreme positioning adopted by President Trump in favor of the Israelis since he took office in 2017.
According to them, the transfer implies the denial of their claims on Jerusalem. Israel seized East Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed it. All Jerusalem is its "eternal" and "indivisible" capital, it says. The Palestinians, for their part, want to make East Jerusalem the capital of the state they aspire to. In addition, religion aggravates the sensitivity of the issue, because Jerusalem is a Holy City for Muslims, Jews and Christians.
Trump promised to mediate between Israelis and Palestinians in a possible "last" diplomatic agreement. By announcing on December 6 that he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he wanted to favor the search for an elusive peace, "taking Jerusalem out of the board," he said. For the international community, East Jerusalem remains an occupied territory, so embassies should not be installed in the city until the status of it is not negotiated between both parties.