The Islamic Resistant Movement Hamas has declared Friday a “day of rage” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. A statement released by Hamas said the “day of rage” was organized to “respond to the U.S. decision that targets the holy city” and send a message to Israel “with all available means.”
The statement added that Jerusalem was the “red line” and said the U.S. move would "open the gates of hell." Hamas Political Bureau President Ismail Hani addressed the Muslim world and called for the "fulfilling of a historic responsibility and uniting against the pro-Israel U.S. administration." Apart from the “day of rage” for Palestine, the Hamas statement added that there will be wide protests in front of U.S. embassies and consulates in the world.
“We call on the people of Palestine to declare ‘day of rage’ on Friday against Israel, denying the U.S. plan to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” said the Hamas statement.
“The youth and the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank need to respond by all means available to the U.S. decision that harms our Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a red line and we will not allow any desecration of it,” it added.
President Trump on Wednesday formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and initiated a plan to move the U.S.’s Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. “Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” he said at the White House.
Palestinians poured to the streets to protest the U.S. decision. Hundreds participated in the protest in the West Bank. U.S. and Israel flags as well as Trump posters were burnt. Palestinian flags and placards reacting to the Jerusalem issue were unfurled. Protestors chanted “America is the head of the snake, Palestinians will not surrender.”
In Lebanon, the Daily Star newspaper ran a full page photograph of Jerusalem on its cover with the headline "No offense Mr. President, Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine." Across social media, the hashtag #JerusalemIsTheCapitalofPalestine received widespread support. Social media users expressed their concerns regarding the move, saying that Trump was trying to hinder peace in the Middle East and around the world.
"It incites feelings of anger among all Muslims and threatens world peace," said Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Imam of Egypt's al-Azhar mosque, one of Islam's most important institutions.
"The gates of hell will be opened in the West before the East," he added, warning of the possible reaction.
The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) described the U.S. decision as "a provocative move that could push the region to the brink of hell.”
The move, the union added, “will push the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim people to defend their holy city by any means necessary.”
Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as incendiary in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.
The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Major U.S. allies came out against Trump's reversal of decades of U.S. and broad international policy on Jerusalem.
