37 Palestinians killed as US embassy opening in Jerusalem looms
Gaza, May 14: At least 37 Palestinians were killed and around 1,500 were wounded on Monday by Israeli troops in clashes on the Gaza border before the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
The Israeli Army said on Twitter that 35,000 Palestinians were demonstrating along the Gaza-Israel boundary.
Among the deceased was a 14-year-old boy and reports from the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Red Crescent medical relief group said hundreds were suffering from gunshot wounds, while many others were hit by shrapnel or affected by smoke, the BBC reported.
Witnesses said that several Palestinians managed to get through the security fence and that tens or hundreds were crossing into the Israeli territory.
The demonstrations and general strikes had been planned to protest against the US embassy's relocation from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which many consider contravenes international consensus to not recognize the city as Israel's capital until its status is established during negotiations.
Palestinians see East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in 1980, as the capital of their future state.
The timing of the move has also been slammed, as it is being held a day ahead of Nakba Day ("Day of the Catastrophe"), which this year marks the 70th anniversary of Israel's creation and subsequent displacement of some 700,000 Palestinian refugees.
A small interim embassy will start operating on Monday inside the existing US consulate building in Jerusalem. A larger site will be found later when the rest of the embassy moves from Tel Aviv.
US President Donald Trump will address the ceremony by video and he will be represented by his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will also be present at the event.
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Iran war 'close to over,' says Trump
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Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has said that the war with Iran is “close to over,” asserting that if he pulled up stakes right now, it would take Tehran 20 years to rebuild the country.
The president's comments come hours after the US Central Command said it has successfully blocked all traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas in the first 24 hours of Trump's blockade, saying the US was supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think it’s close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to being over,” Trump told Fox News in an interview that will be telecast later Wednesday.
The interview for the programme “Mornings with Maria” was recorded on Tuesday.
“I think it’s — I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon. And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everyone over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that,” Trump said.
The US and Iran failed to reach an agreement following historic marathon talks in Islamabad over the weekend to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict that started on February 28.
A US media report said on Tuesday that Trump said that a second round of talks with Iran could be held in Islamabad “over the next two days.”
“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there,” Trump told The New York Post.
Trump attributed the possibility of a second round of talks to the “great job” done by Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
“It's more likely, you know why? Because the field marshal is doing a great job,” the US President said.
He did not say whether Vice President J D Vance would continue to lead the negotiating team, which included White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons. So I don’t like the 20 years,” Trump said when asked about suggestions that a moratorium might encourage Iran to make an agreement.
“I don’t want them (Iran) to feel like they have a win,” the US President said.
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