Thousands of Hizbollah supporters joined a fiery rally in Beirut today as the movement’s leader urged Palestinians to rise up after US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
Demonstrators packed the streets of Beirut’s southern suburbs in a carefully managed march. Crowds chanted, “Death to America, death to Israel!” and waved Palestinian and Hizbollah flags.
Trump’s announcement last week that his Administration would break with decades of US foreign policy to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has sparked protests across the Arab world.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with Lebanese security forces near the US Embassy in Beirut yesterday, hurling rocks and bottles towards the compound as the army beat back the crowd using tear gas and water cannons.
But so far, more serious violence has not materialised, and Palestinian concerns about Jerusalem have failed to energise most Arab governments. For the most part, many leaders here seem more focused on conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere that are now afflicting the region.
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