Protests Against Jerusalem Decision Turn Violent in Lebanon
The protesters in Beirut hurled projectiles at the embassy and burned Trump in effigy, along with U.S. and Israeli flags.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon.
In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest population of Muslims, thousands of protesters mounted a demonstration Sunday outside the U.S. Embassy in the capital.
One demonstrator in Jakarta told Reuters that “Trump has disrupted world peace.”
Synagogue firebombed in Sweden
Police in the Swedish city of Gothenburg have arrested three people for allegedly throwing firebombs at a synagogue. A police spokesman said Sunday the incident is being investigated as attempted arson. No one was hurt in the incident.
Officials in Stockholm say security has been tightened around a synagogue in the capital.
Arab League meeting
Earlier Sunday, the Arab League said U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is “a dangerous development that places the United States at a position of bias in favor of the occupation and the violation of international law and resolutions.”
The statement was issued early Sunday after an emergency meeting of league foreign ministers in Cairo and went on to say that Trump’s decision also strips the U.S. of its role as a “sponsor and broker” in the Mideast peace process.
The resolution also said Trump’s Jerusalem decision “undermines efforts to bring about peace, deepens tension and will spark anger that will threaten to push the region to the edge of the abyss of violence, chaos and bloodshed.”
The head of the Arab League called on the nations of the world to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital, in response to Trump's announcement.
The foreign ministers also called on the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning Trump’s decision.
The meeting in Cairo took place after days of street protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as protests at Al-Azhar Mosque in the Egyptian capital.
A report in Foreign Policy magazine says the White House, in a recent meeting with Palestinian diplomats, failed to tell them about Trump’s Jerusalem decision even as the delegation asked if Trump would sign the waiver to prevent the U.S. Embassy from moving to Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Sunday: “I hear [from Europe] voices of condemnation over President Trump’s historic announcement, but I have not heard any condemnation for the rocket firing against Israel that has come [after the announcement] and the awful incitement against us.”
'US has crossed red lines'
The heads of the largest Christian church in Cairo and Al-Azhar University have said they will not meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence when he visits Cairo on December 20. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also announced he will not meet with Pence, saying "the U.S. has crossed red lines" on Jerusalem.
A statement from the Coptic Orthodox Church called the Trump decision "inappropriate and without consideration for the feelings of millions of people."
In Paris, pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched ahead of a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Netanyahu is to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has called Trump's decision "regrettable."
Pro-Palestinian rallies also took place Saturday outside the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Demonstrations took place Friday in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon and Malaysia