The Latest: Hamas vows to continue Gaza protests

By mid-day Monday, 18 Palestinians had been killed and close to 500 wounded by Israeli soldiers firing from across the border fence. Israel has said it will block a possible breach of the border at any cost.

Despite the rising death toll, Hamas was doubling down. Radwan says “we will continue on this path until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved.”

Since March, 60 Palestinians have been killed in the unrest along the border.

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2:45 p.m.

The Israeli military says troops shot and killed three Palestinians who were trying to place an explosive device by the border fence in Gaza during mass protests.

The shooting in the southern Gaza town of Rafah came as thousands of Palestinians protested at the border against the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and against a decade-long blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza by Israel and Egypt.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says at least 18 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

In a separate incident, the army says an Israeli aircraft bombed a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli troops came under fire. No Israeli casualties were reported.

The Israeli military says over 35,000 protesters are taking part in demonstrations at 12 points along the Gaza border.

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2:40 p.m.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the number of Palestinian protesters killed by Israeli army fire near the Gaza border has risen to 18.

Monday’s deaths bring to 60 the number of protesters killed since mass border protests against a decade-old blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory began in late March.

The rising death toll is bound to overshadow the festive inauguration of a U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem later Monday. Palestinians say the embassy opening is a show of blatant pro-Israel bias by the Trump administration.

Monday’s bloodshed will likely revive international criticism of open-fire rules that allow soldiers to use lethal force against unarmed protesters.

Israel says it has the right to defend its border and that it will block a border breach at any cost.

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2:30 p.m.

The Arab League and the top Sunni Muslim religious authority have criticized the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem.

The Cairo-based Arab League called on the international community to oppose what it considers an “unjust decision” and the ongoing “Israeli occupation” of the city.

It called the move a “blatant attack on the feelings of Arabs and Muslims,” and a “grave violation of the rules of international law” that would destabilize the region.

The Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, have called for an urgent meeting at the Arab League on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

Egypt’s Al-Azhar religious institution called on the international community to use “all peaceful means” to “dismiss positions of countries that sided with the Zionist entity,” referring to Israel.

The U.S. is to formally inaugurate the embassy in Jerusalem later on Monday. The Palestinians are holding mass protests along the Gaza border to condemn the move, and to try to break a decade-old blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory by Israel and Egypt.

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2:20 p.m.

A top Russian diplomat has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S Embassy to Jerusalem, saying it will further fuel tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.

The U.S. Embassy is due to officially relocate to Jerusalem on Monday, after Trump recognized it as the capital of Israel in December.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on Monday described the relocation of the embassy as “short-sighted.”

Bogdanov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency that the decision “runs against the stance of most of the international community.” He blamed the U.S. for “a sharp escalation around Gaza” and said the relocation of the U.S. embassy “could spark large-scale confrontations between Palestinians and the Israelis and cause a rising number of casualties.”

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2:05 p.m.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the number of Palestinian protesters killed by Israeli army fire near the Gaza border has risen to 16.

Monday’s deaths bring to 58 the number of protesters killed since mass border protests against a decade-old blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory began in late March.

Israel has said it will prevent a border breach at any cost. A growing casualty toll Monday was bound to revive international criticism of open-fire rules under which soldiers are permitted to shoot anyone approaching the border fence.

Rights groups have said such rules are unlawful. Israel says it has the right to defend its border.

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1:40 p.m.

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group says the U.S. decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a unilateral step “that Palestinians will not accept and therefore it is worthless.”

The group’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, made his comments in a speech in Beirut on Monday marking the 70th anniversary of what Arabs refer to as the “nakba” or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war around Israel’s creation.

Kassem added that “God willing, the nakba that happened 70 years ago will be a motive for change and liberation.”

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1:30 p.m.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the number of Palestinian protesters killed by Israeli army fire near the Gaza border has risen to seven.

Monday’s deaths bring to 49 the number of Palestinians killed during mass border marches that began in late March and are aimed at breaking a decade-old blockade of the territory.

The ministry says 500 people were wounded Monday, including at least 69 by live fire.

Israel has said it would prevent a potential breach of the Gaza border at all costs. It has drawn international criticism for what rights groups say are unlawful open-fire rules. Israel says it has the right to defend its border.

Monday’s protests also targeted the opening of the U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem later in the day.

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12:45 p.m.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz says President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will go down in history as a moment akin to President Harry Truman recognizing Israel when it was established in 1948.

Trump’s former Republican presidential rival says Monday that it was “the right decision” and had already inspired Guatemala, Paraguay and perhaps others to follow suit. Cruz is in Israel as part of a congressional delegation for the embassy’s dedication in Jerusalem.

Trump has been lauded by Israelis and condemned by Palestinians for moving the embassy to the contested city. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

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12:30 p.m.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says one Palestinian has been killed and 69 have been wounded by Israeli army fire in mass protests on the Gaza-Israel border.

The ministry said Monday that nine of the wounded are in serious condition. It says the man who was killed was 21 years old and was shot near the southeastern town of Khan Younis. It says several dozen other protesters were overcome by tear gas.

Thousands of Palestinians are protesting near Gaza’s border with Israel, and the territory’s Hamas leaders have suggested a border breach is possible. Israel has warned it would block such a breach at any cost.

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12:20 p.m.

The Israeli military says it has set up several layers of security around the Gaza border in case of a massive breach by Palestinian protesters.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says forces have been “massively reinforced” along the front lines of the border. But he says additional layers of forces have been stationed inside Israeli communities, and between communities, to defend Israeli civilians in case of a breach.

Conricus said Monday that “even if the fence is breached, we will be able to protect Israeli civilians from attempts to massacre or kidnap or kill them.”

The Hamas organizers of the Palestinian protests have signalled that thousands of people may try to break through the fence.

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12:15 p.m.

Israel’s justice minister is calling President Donald Trump the “Churchill of the 21st Century” for relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem.

Ayelet Shaked says Monday that with his move Trump has “reversed Chamberlain’s policy of capitulation” and shown the world that “the landowner has returned.”

Previous U.S. presidents of both parties, as well as nearly every other country, refrained from opening embassies in Jerusalem, arguing that the city’s final status should first be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Shaked appeared to be comparing that policy to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of the Nazis prior to World War II, suggesting Trump was like his successor, Winston Churchill, who led the war effort.

Shaked, from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, bashed Europe for not learning from history. She says it “closed its eyes to the strengthening of the Nazis, today it is choosing to close its eyes to the strengthening of Iran.”

Trump has been lauded by Israelis and condemned by Palestinians for moving the embassy to the contested city. The Palestinians seek its eastern sector as their future capital and say the move removes the U.S. as an impartial arbiter.

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11:15 a.m.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says it’s a U.S. “national security priority” to relocate the Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Mnuchin was speaking Monday at an event in Jerusalem ahead of the opening ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy.

Trump’s decision in December to go forward with a campaign promise to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem was welcomed by Israel and condemned by the Palestinians. Previous presidents had signed a waiver postponing the move, citing national security.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians seek the city’s eastern half as capital of a future state and say the move shows the U.S. is not an impartial peace negotiator.

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11 a.m.

Israeli troops firing from across a border fence have shot and wounded two Palestinians as a protest near the Gaza border gets underway.

Gaza residents streamed to the border area Monday for what is intended to be the largest protest yet against a decade-old blockade of the territory. Israel’s military says it will stop a possible border breach at all costs, warning protesters that they are endangering their lives.

Near Gaza City, hundreds gathered about 150 metres (yards) from the fence. A reporter witnessed two people being shot in the legs.

Protester Mohammed Hamami, 40, says the march is a “message to Israel and its allies that we will never give up on our land.” Most Gaza residents are descendants of refugees from the Mideast war over Israel’s 1948 creation.

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10:50 a.m.

Turkey’s president has once again condemned the U.S. decision to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

In a statement published late Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the U.S. disregarded “rights and justice,” ignoring the international community. The new embassy is to be officially inaugurated on Monday.

Erdogan says the move serves to “reward” the Israeli government despite it undermining efforts to resolve the decades-long conflict, while it “punished” Palestinians. Erdogan says: “History and humanity will never forgive the injustices done to our Palestinian brothers.”

Erdogan has been vehemently critical of the U.S. decision and hosted an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in December to condemn the move.

The Turkish president called on Israel to act “responsibly and with moderation” during possible protests on Monday to ensure no one’s killed.

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10:40 a.m.

Two prominent newspapers in the United Arab Emirates are criticizing America’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The English-language, government-aligned Gulf News called Monday “a sad day” in a front-page headline over a cartoon by the slain Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali of a crying Palestinian woman behind barbed wire. Al-Ali, a critic of both Israeli and Arab governments, was fatally shot in London in 1987.

In an editorial, the Dubai-based Gulf News said: “This is a day when the United States and the administration of President Donald Trump should hang its head in shame.” It called Trump’s decision “a purely political move to appease his friends on the Manhattan party circuit” and said “Jerusalem’s status is non-negotiable.”

The Gulf News regularly datelines news reports as being from “Occupied Jerusalem.”

In The National, an English-language, government-aligned newspaper in Abu Dhabi, editor-in-chief Mina al-Oraibi wrote: “Rather than ignoring history and historic rights, courage and immediate intervention is needed to save the heart of the Arab world.’”

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10:30 a.m.

The speaker of Iran’s parliament is reportedly warning that moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will inflame tensions in the Middle East.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency on Monday quoted Ali Larijani as saying: “Definitely their measures on moving their embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Iran’s nuclear issue will not go unchallenged. These sorts of actions will increase tension in the region and the world.”

Larijani urged Muslim countries to take more serious measures in response to President Donald Trump’s “wrong and unwise decision” to move the embassy to Jerusalem. The city’s future status is one of the most divisive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Larijani’s comments come nearly a week after Trump pulled America out of the nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers in 2015.

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10:20 a.m.

Witnesses say Israeli drones have dropped incendiary materials, setting ablaze tires that had been collected for use in a planned Gaza border protest.

They say the drones set tires ablaze in two locations early Monday, releasing large clouds of black smoke.

In weekly protests since March, Gaza activists have been using the thick smoke from burning tires as a cover against Israeli snipers on the other side of the fence.

On Monday, the largest turnout yet is expected in a campaign, led by Gaza’s Hamas rulers, to break the decade-old blockade of the territory.

Mosques called on people to head for the border. A general strike was observed, with shops and markets closed. Buses deployed outside mosques to pick up protesters.

Israel’s military says it will stop any border breach.

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9:50 a.m.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has denounced the choice of a “religious bigot” to deliver the blessing at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Pastor Robert Jeffress, leader of a Dallas-area Baptist church and a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, is slated to deliver a blessing on Monday at the opening of the relocated embassy.

Jeffress has drawn criticism for calling Islam and Mormonism “a heresy from the pit of hell” and saying Jews “can’t be saved.”

Romney writes on Twitter that “Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.”

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9:15 a.m.

A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sharply criticized President Donald Trump over his decision to open a U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem, saying the American administration is “based on lies.”

Saeb Erekat told the Voice of Palestine radio Monday that Trump violated a promise to hold off on moving the embassy to give peace talks a chance. Erekat says Washington “is no longer a partner.”

In December, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, infuriating Palestinians who seek the Israeli-annexed eastern sector as a capital. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem opens Monday.

Erekat says the Trump administration has “become part of the problem.” He suggested Trump’s Mideast team is unqualified, saying “the world needs real leaders, and those (White House officials) are real estate dealers, not leaders.”

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9:05 a.m.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary has expressed concern that the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel could escalate tensions in the Middle East.

Yoshihide Suga said Monday that “Japan is concerned that the move could make peace process in the Middle East even more difficult or escalate tension in all of the Middle East.” He says Japan will watch the development with great interest.

Suga stopped short of criticizing the U.S., and said that Japan takes note of Washington’s pledge that the issue of Jerusalem’s status should be resolved between the concerned parties.

He stressed that Japan’s position is that the disputes and Jerusalem’s status should be resolved via negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Suga added that Japan hopes to contribute in its own way to the region’s peace by promoting trust and dialogue between the two parties through various projects.

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem has been welcomed by Israel but condemned by the Palestinians, who want their capital to be in east Jerusalem and view the decision as a blatantly one-sided move on one of the thorniest disputes in the conflict.

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9 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace negotiator says moving the American embassy to Jerusalem is a “necessary condition” to a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

American officials are in Jerusalem for Monday’s relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city, a move the Israeli government has embraced but the Palestinians have condemned.

Jason Greenblatt writes on Twitter that “the long-overdue step of moving our Embassy is not a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace deal.”

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. They view the relocation as a blatant, one-sided move that invalidates America’s role as an impartial peace broker.

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8:30 a.m.

Israel has warned Gaza residents they will be risking their lives if they approach the border during a planned mass protest.

The army says in the leaflets dropped by jets Monday that it will “act against every attempt to damage the security fence or harm IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians.”

Gaza’s ruling Hamas says it expects tens of thousands to join Monday’s march, suggesting a possible border breach. The march is part of a campaign to break Gaza’s decade-old border blockade. It’s also a protest against the inauguration Monday of a U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

Since March, 42 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 1,800 wounded by Israeli army fire.

With Israel and Hamas digging in, there has been concern about large numbers of casualties Monday.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

The Latest: Hamas vows to continue Gaza protests

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