Jerusalem Largely Calm as Region Protests Trump Move
Analysts said the Palestinians may not be eager to embark on a new, sustained intifada because of fatigue, because of a sense
that Mr. Trump’s decision probably cannot be reversed and because two previous uprisings did not bring them closer to the goal of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Palestinian protesters confronted Israeli soldiers on the Gaza border on Friday,
and thousands more clashed at military checkpoints across the West Bank.
The hard-line imam Ahmad Khatami said during his sermon
that "all the world is protesting Trump’s decision," adding, "Some of the statesmen in America believe he has a mental problem and must receive treatment from doctors." "We have missiles, we build missiles and will increase the range of our missiles to 1,000 or 1,500 kilometers to deprive White House residents from a comfortable sleep," Mr. Khatami continued.
Hamas also noted that the Palestinians were marking the 30th anniversary this week of the start of the first intifada, an uprising against Israeli occupation
that began in Gaza, quickly spread to the West Bank and led to hundreds of deaths, most of them of Palestinians.
Hamas, the Islamic militant group that dominates Gaza, had demanded a "day of rage" on Friday, calling on Palestinians to confront Israeli forces wherever they could,
and for the start of a new intifada, or popular uprising.
But in the holy city itself, the main Friday Prayer at Al Aqsa Mosque was held without incident, according to the Israeli police,
and the crowds that gathered afterward dispersed largely peacefully.
One possible reason for relative calm in the city at the center of the storm was
that the Israeli police did not try to bar young Palestinian men from attending the noon prayer at Al Aqsa Mosque, which it had done during previous tense periods.
