Israel

On Thursday, the Palestinian armed group al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades announced in an official statement that its fighters fired several rockets from Gaza strip targeting Israeli settlements north of it. The statement was released by al-Nasser Salah al-Deen news agency “al-Buraq” and the armed group stressed that this is only the first response to Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and warned that more will follow.

Yesterday, President Trump officially announced his “new approach” to the Israel-Palestine conflict that, which instead of bringing peace to the region like he repeatedly promised during the campaign, appears poised to trigger the most destructive periods of Israeli vs Palestinian violence since 2005.

Authored by Jason Ditz via AntiWar.com,

With the US so heavily committed to supporting Israel, and protecting them from any UN resolutions, it’s always been difficult for the Palestinian leadership to trust the US to be an impartial moderator for peace efforts. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Wednesday’s move by President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has effectively ended that entirely.

As expected, President Trump on Wednesday recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced plans to relocate the U.S. embassy there, a decision that is certain to inflame tensions in the region and throw a wrench in potential peace negotiations, paradoxically uniting the fractured midle east world against Israel... and the U.S.

"I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said shortly after 1pm in the White House.

Today at 1pm, president Trump will announce the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but will sign a waiver delaying the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to there for 6 months. Trump's decision to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem upends decades of American policy in the Middle East and risks inflaming violence in an already-tense region. And sure enough, the announcement prompted an immediate - and furious - response sparking Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that risks violent protests.