Betty MacDonald Fan Club. Join fans of the beloved writer Betty MacDonald (1907-58). The original Betty MacDonald Fan Club and literary Society. Welcome to Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society - the official Betty MacDonald Fan Club Website with members in 40 countries.
Betty MacDonald, the author of The Egg and I and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series is beloved all over the world. Don't miss Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald biography and his very witty interviews on CD and DVD!
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Jerusalem protests
Jerusalem protests: Israel launches air strike on Gaza amid violent clashes, 'injuring at least 14 people' - as it happened
Live Blog
Follow the latest live as hundreds of extra Israeli police respond to Hamas’ call for Palestinian day of rage
3pm: Second Palestinian man killed in clashes with Israeli security forces 1.40pm: Protests held at 30 locations across the West Bank and Gaza 1.20pm: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says embassy will not move to Jerusalem for two years 12.05pm: Large protests take place across Muslim world, including Turkey, Egypt and Iran Recap: Hamas called for 'Day of Rage' over Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem Trump decision 'driven by campaign promises, not interests of region'
Israeli forces stand guard in Jerusalem's Old City on 8 December 2017 AFP/Getty Images
All eyes were on Jerusalem’s Old City for anticipated protests on Friday in the wake of Donald Trump’s decision to recognise the city as the capital of Israel. Israelis and Palestinians alike braced themselves for a day of
rage called for by various Palestinian political groups to protest the
US’ move. On Friday morning the city’s streets were quiet but hundreds of extra
police patrolled the city centre in anticipation of protests after
midday prayers. And as people poured out of mosques in the West Bank for peaceful
planned marches, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security
forces in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah.
Welcome to The Independent's live blog as clashes are breaking out in
the Middle East over Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel.
Hundreds of Palestinian protesters are clashing with Israeli
security forces in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and
Ramallah after Friday midday prayers as part of a day of rage over the
Trump administration's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's
capital.
Protesters threw stones at Israeli troops who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
In Gaza, thousands took to the streets and marched Friday to denounce President Donald Trump's proclamation.
Thousands of Palestinian worshippers also are rallying outside Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque, a flashpoint site in the holy city.
Large protests are also taking place in Muslim majority
countries around the world, including Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and
Indonesia.
In Islamabad and Tehran, protesters torched effigies of President Trump and chanted "Down with America" and "Down with Israel."
The Palestinian Red Cross says more
than 90 people have been injured in clashes with Israeli forces across
the West Bank on Friday.
At least 50 were
injured in protests that turned violent on Thursday, with one person
left in a critical condition. Most people suffered from tear gas
inhalation.
Protesters in Jerusalem are chanting "America is the head of the snake".
12
Palestinians have been hurt by rubber-coated steel pellets and one by
live fire in West Bank protests in Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem, a
Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson has said.
Solidarity rallies elsewhere in the world appear to have a
larger turn out than the Jerusalem protest. Major demonstrations are
taking place in:
Small clashes continue outside Ramallah.
Israeli cabinet minister Zeev Elkin has said he
believes the phrasing of Mr Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital suggests an “openness to eventual Palestinian control of part
of the city”.
He also predicted the Israeli authorities would oppose such an idea.
According to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords, the status of Jerusalem is supposed to be settled at an advanced stage of peace talks.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the US embassy to Israel
- currently in Tel Aviv - will not move premises to Jerusalem within
the next two years.
The Israeli military said there have been protests
at 30 locations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, numbering around
3,000 people in total.
At least 13 people were injured
by live fire and 47 by rubber bullets. Dozens more suffered from tear
gas inhalation, Red Crescent paramedics said.
Six arrests were made.
Protests
in Jerusalem appear to be winding down as the daylight fades. There is
still some ongoing violence in the West Bank and Gaza.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that although
President Trump has recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the final
status of the city has "not been indicated".
He
said the US is making it clear that the divided city's borders will be
left to Israelis and Palestinians to "negotiate and decide".
Mr Tillerson was speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at a news conference in Paris.
One Palestinian has been shot dead by the Israeli army in clashes in the Gaza border, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said.
A second Palestinian man has been killed in today's clashes, Gaza officials said.
United Nations Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov has warned that
there is a risk of violent escalation in response to US President Donald
Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"There
is a serious risk today that we may see a chain of unilateral actions,
which can only push us further away from achieving our shared goal of
peace," Mladenov told the UN Security Council.
The Security Council meeting was requested by Britain, France, Sweden, Bolivia, Uruguay, Italy, Senegal and Egypt.
Britain has called on the United States to put forward detailed
proposals for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and described as
"unhelpful" a decision by President Donald Trump to
recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Amid anger in the Arab
world and concern among Washington's Western allies, the United Nations
Security Council met on Friday at the request of eight of the 15 members
- Britain, France, Sweden, Bolivia, Uruguay, Italy, Senegal and Egypt. "These
decisions are unhelpful for the prospects of peace in the region,"
British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said of the US move, which
includes plans to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. "We
strongly encourage the U.S. administration to bring forward detailed
proposals for an Israeli, Palestinian settlement," he said. "The UK will
also do everything we can to support progress and achieve the vision of
a lasting peace." US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
said the Washington has credibility as a mediator with both Israel and
the Palestinians and accused the United Nations of damaging rather than
advancing peace prospects with unfair attacks on Israel. "Israel
will never be, and should never be, bullied into an agreement by the
United Nations, or by any collection of countries that have proven their
disregard for Israel's security," Haley said.
The United States cannot broker the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday, in response
to President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital. "We reject the American decision over Jerusalem. With
this position the United States has become no longer qualified to
sponsor the peace process," Mr Abbas said in a statement. He did not
elaborate further.
After the UN meeting in a joint statement, Britain, France,
Germany, Sweden and Italy said the decision by Washington, which
includes plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, was
"unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region.""We stand
ready to contribute to all credible efforts to restart the peace
process, on the basis of internationally agreed parameters, leading to a
two-State solution," they said. "We encourage the US Administration to
now bring forward detailed proposals for an Israel-Palestinian
settlement."
Palestinian security sources have claimed that 10 people have been injured in an Israeli air strike on Gaza
Strikes
and demonstrations are expected across Jerusalem and the Palestinian
Territories, as well as solidarity protests throughout the region and
wider Muslim world, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan. More than 50 people were injured in low-level clashes
across the West Bank on Thursday. Friday, the Muslim holy day, is
usually a bellwether for further violence in the intractable conflict. The Israeli authorities often impose age limits on access to
Jerusalem's al Aqsa mosque barring younger men during periods of
increased tensions, but the compound remained open to all on Friday.
Play Video
Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Jerusalem decision not a sign that US is pulling out of peace process
Officers would respond to any disruptions, Israeli police said. The contested city of Jerusalem is claimed by both sides as their
capital and control of it is one of the major stumbling blocks to a
lasting peace deal in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Mr Trump broke away with decades of existing US policy and the terms
set out in the 1993 Oslo peace accords in his Wednesday announcement
that the US would recognise the holy city as Israel’s capital and
relocate its embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Though the US administration insisted that the move acknowledges
“current reality”, the symbolism has been taken to mean that the US has
sided with Israel in the intractable conflict. The US has been seeking to resurrect talks between Israel and the
Palestinians since Mr Trump took office. The president has previously
described brokering an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict “the ultimate
deal”. While welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and many other world leaders
have expressed concern the controversial move could spark renewed
violence in the Middle East and serve as a call to arms for Islamic
extremist movements such as Isis and al Qaeda.
Several US allies - including the UK, France and Saudi Arabia - have publicly disagreed with the move. On Thursday, Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh called on the Palestinian people to rise up in a new intifada. “We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada in
the face of the Zionist enemy,” he said in a speech from Gaza. “This will not stop until the liberation of Jerusalem and the West Bank,” he added.
Play Video
Donald Trump officially recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital
Hamas made no mention of utilising its own arsenal to attack Israel,
but fears of violence in the volatile region continue to grow. Observers remain hopeful the relatively low levels of violence seen
during protests on Thursday mean Friday will also pass without major
incident.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
