Lebanon forces fire tear gas at protestors near US embassy

Beirut: Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and water cannons on Sunday at demonstrators near the US embassy as they protested Washington’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

An AFP correspondent in Awkar on the outskirts of the capital Beirut said several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators had gathered near the US embassy, located in the area. They were blocked from reaching the complex by a metal gate sealing the road leading to the embassy, and security forces fired tear gas and water cannons to repel demonstrators who tried to open the gate by force. An AFP photographer was lightly wounded in the chest when a member of the Lebanese security forces fired a rubber bullet at him. He was among several people hurt in the violence, during which protesters also hurled rocks at the Lebanese forces blocking the way to the US embassy.

The police detained some demonstrators but it was not clear how many. Protestors waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags, and sporting black-and-white checked keffiyeh scarves, chanted slogans against President Donald Trump, who on Wednesday recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

A group of demonstrators set alight an effigy of the US president, whose decision has upended decades of American diplomacy and an international consensus to leave the status of Jerusalem to be resolved in negotiations. “We’re here to tell Trump his decision is meaningless. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine,” said Sylvia Ammoud, wearing the trademark keffiyeh headdress tied around her neck as a scarf. “It isn’t just a city, it’s the struggle in which we grew up to build the Palestinian cause,” she said.

“We, the people, today want to rise up and get our message across on this issue, because it´s an issue that concerns our dignity and our history,” said another protester, who gave his name as Khaled. The demonstrators included members of Palestinian parties, as well as Lebanese Islamists and leftists.