LIVE: Calls for Palestinian uprising after Trump's Jerusalem move
After 70 years, Donald Trump did on Wednesday what no previous US president has done – recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The announcement has sparked anger and protest across the Middle East while being welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and supporters of Israel.
Leaders in Gaza and the West Bank have called for a strong response, with protests in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli soldiers were deployed in anticipation of unrest.
We’ll be bringing you live updates here.
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Photo: Protesters shout slogans and wave the Jordanian flag during a protest near the American Embassy in Amman against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 7, 2017. (AFP)
Live Updates
France does not support US President Donald Trump's "unilateral" decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and called for calm across the region, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.
"This decision is a regrettable decision that France does not approve of and goes against international law and all the resolutions of the UN Security Council," Macron told reporters at a news conference in Algiers.
Iran "seriously condemns" the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, the Islamic Republic said on Wednesday in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried by state media.
The move by the US violates international resolutions, the statement said.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the US is trying to destabilise the region and start a war to protect Israel's security.
Eight countries called on Wednesday for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council after the US said it recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Bolivia, Egypt, France, Italy, Senegal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Uruguay want a meeting by the end of the week, the Swedish mission to the 15-member body said.
A Security Council resolution adopted in December last year "underlines that it will not recognise any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations".
Hours after Trump made his announcement, Hamas called for Palestinians to launch a new intifada.
"We can only face the Zionist policy backed by the United States by launching a new intifada," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in the Gaza Strip early on Thursday.
The Palestinian Authority, which is based in the occupied West Bank, said the move rules out any possibility of the US being a broker in future peace talks.
Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus' traditional birthplace in Bethlehem on Wednesday night in protest against moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.
A Christmas tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the burial site of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness.
"The Christmas tree was switched off on the order of the mayor today in protest at Trump's decision," said Fady Ghattas, Bethlehem's municipal media officer.
The Palestinian cause will stay alive among Arabs until the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the Syrian president's office said on Wednesday in response to US President Donald Trump's Jerusalem decision.
"The future of Jerusalem is not determined by a state or a president but is determined by its history and by the will and determination in the Palestinian cause," President Bashar al-Assad's office said on an official social media feed.
British Prime Minister Theresa May voiced opposition to the US decision on Wednesday, saying it is unlikely to help peace efforts.
"We disagree with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement," her spokesman said. "We believe it is unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region."
Jerusalem's municipality is expected to light up the walls of the Old City to look like the American flag.
The announcement comes hours before Trump is due to make an announcement on Jerusalem.
"Whether in Tel Aviv or in Jerusalem, the US embassy would still be sitting on Palestinian land," writes British-Palestinian academic Azzam Tamimi.
"This is a land that was invaded, usurped and occupied by Zionists who, many Palestinians still believe, don't belong where they happen to be living today."
The White House in its daily briefing has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will be making a major announcement on Jerusalem at 1pm EST.
The UK has said it has "no intention of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv".
In remarks made by UK Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, he said that "we believe such a move can inflame tensions in the region.
"Our position is clear and longstanding. The status of Jerusalem should be determined in a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians."
Bolivia will ask for a public meeting of the United Nations Security Council if US President Donald Trump announces on Wednesday that the US recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there.
Bolivian UN ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz said it would be a “reckless and a dangerous decision that goes against international law, the resolutions of the Security Council, it also weakens any effort for peace in the region and also upsets the whole region.”
A meeting of the 15-member council cannot be scheduled until Bolivia formally requests one. It was not immediately clear when such a meeting could be held.
Via Reuters
Jerusalem's Old City holds significance for the three major Abrahamic religions.
Here's a map showing the major sites in the Old City revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims.
