Fresh Palestinian protests against Trump Jerusalem decision

JERUSALEM: Thousands of Palestinians took part in fresh protests Friday against Washington's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but a week on there is no sign of a threatened new intifada.

US President Donald Trump's December 6 announcement that he would break with decades of American policy and move his embassy to Jerusalem has stirred international condemnation, as well as protests across the Palestinian territories and Arab world.

Four Palestinians have been killed, with more than 1000 wounded, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Protesters have burned American and Israeli flags and trampled on pictures of Trump. But concerns that the decision would lead to a major wave of bloodshed have as yet not materialised.

Protests broke out across the Palestinian territories for the second Friday in a row after the end of weekly Muslim prayers, often a catalyst for clashes between young Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. In Gaza, the strip's Islamist rulers Hamas had called for another 'day of rage' against the decision, with tens of thousands taking to the streets. Clashes were expected along the border with Israel later Friday. In the occupied West Bank, a few thousand people gathered in the southern city of Hebron, as well as Nablus in the north, with clashes near the Al-Arroub camp, south of Bethlehem.

In Jerusalem itself, around 30,000 people prayed at the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims, the Islamic organisation that administers the site said. The vast majority left without incident, but small scuffles broke out in Jerusalem's Old City.