Israel deploys more policemen after fallout from Trump's declaration
JERUSALEM Palestinians called for a "day of rage" and Israeli police deployed in large numbers as US President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital sent shockwaves through the region for a second day.
Diplomatic fallout from the deeply controversial declaration also continued, with suggestions Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas could refuse to meet US Vice-President Mike Pence on his visit to the region later this month.
The United Nations Security Council was to meet late yesterday in an emergency session to discuss Mr Trump's move, which has drawn near universal condemnation, including from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Whether unrest would spread and spiral was being closely watched.
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, was calling for a "day of rage" after its leader Ismail Haniya said a new intifada, or uprising, should be launched over Mr Trump's declaration.
Several hundred additional police were deployed in and around east Jerusalem's ancient Old City, the location of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam and where thousands typically attend the main weekly prayers.
Mr Trump's declaration and intention to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem are moves that may help him domestically since they were long-sought by US evangelical Christian and right-wing Jewish voters - key segments of his base of supporters.
The declaration is sure to weigh heavily on Mr Pence's visit. He is due to meet the Palestinian president in the second half of December on a regional tour, but a senior member of Mr Abbas's Fatah faction said it would not occur. - AFP
FOR MORE, SEE Trump's Jerusalem move a stunningly bad decision
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