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Israeli Forces Kill and Wound Palestinians at Gaza Border Protests

by VOA News

   Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian and wounded at least 12
   people Monday along the border of the Gaza Strip where thousands
   gathered to protest as the United States prepared to officially move
   its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

   Local medics reported the casualties in Monday's clashes, the latest in
   six weeks of demonstrations and violence that have included Israeli
   troops killing more than 40 Palestinians.

   Critics have faulted Israeli forces for using live fire, while Israel
   says its actions are necessary for security as people threaten the
   border fence.

   In addition to the fresh gunfire Monday from the Israeli side, the
   security forces also sent tear gas behind lines of protesters, but the
   crowds seemed undeterred and continued to assemble.

   Protesters also lobbed various objects across the border and planned to
   burn tires ahead of the embassy opening later in the day. Many
   businesses and schools in Gaza were closed.

   Along with rejecting the U.S. embassy move, Palestinians are also
   protesting to mark the anniversary of what they call the "nakba" or
   "catastrophe" in reference to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
   who were expelled or fled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's
   creation.

   The new U.S. embassy site is an interim location operating inside the
   existing U.S. consulate building in Jerusalem while a search begins for
   a larger site.

   U.S. President Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to move the
   U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and in December he broke with longstanding
   policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. That same month,
   the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution rejecting
   Trump's decisions regarding Jerusalem.

   U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that moving the
   embassy "is a national security priority" and that Trump "wanted the
   American embassy real estate on the right side of town" in Jerusalem.

   Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians
   view East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

   The issue has long been seen as one of the last big items that would
   need to be resolved in any Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.