Ramallah (dpa) - Palestinians were striking on Thursday and the Hamas militant group called for a Palestinian uprising following US President Donald Trump‘s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel‘s capital. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a general strike was called by the Palestinian Authority (PA) government, closing all commercial centres, schools and public institutions. Meanwhile Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a call for a renewed Palestinian uprising to start on Friday.Thousands of Palestinians typically pray at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem‘s Old City on Friday, making the area a flashpoint for violence. The Israeli army said it has increased its forces in the West Bank "as part of the IDF‘s readiness to possible developments."However, no large-scale protests or clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security services have occurred as fierce winter weather appeared to suppress Palestinian turnout in the streets Wednesday night. Ten Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Isawiya were arrested overnight after Molotov cocktails were thrown near a highway. In Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets Wednesday night, chanting slogans against Trump and in support of Jerusalem and burning car tyres in the towns of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, across Gaza City and in the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.Both Israelis and Palestinians regard the holy city as their capital.On Wednesday, Trump also announced that the US would begin a multi-year process of moving the its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Until Trump‘s decision the US, along with the rest of the world, chose to keep its embassy in Tel Aviv in an effort to remain neutral in peace negotiations between the two sides.Israel captured the eastern half of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move that was not internationally recognized. The city of more than 800,000 has remained in limbo ever since.
