Israel/Palestinian Terr.: Protest ahead of Gaza demonstrations starting March 30 /update 1

Event

Dozens of Palestinians protested outside of the America House organization in Ramallah (West Bank) on Wednesday, March 21, demanding that US institutions be expelled from the Palestinian Territories and protesting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Wednesday's protest comes ahead of a planned nonviolent, six-week tent city protest along the Israeli-Gazan border beginning on Friday, March 30, in which thousands of Palestinians are expected to participate. March 30 also coincides with "Land Day," an annual day of commemoration to denounce Israeli land expropriation. The protest period beginning on March 30 is scheduled to end with a mass protest march to the Israeli border tentatively scheduled on May 15, when the Nakba ("catastrophe"; 1948 Palestinian exodus from the territory that became Israel) is annually commemorated. A heightened Israeli security presence is expected along the border, as well as clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel.

Context

A spike in tensions has been observed in Israel and the Palestinian Territories in the wake of US President Donald Trump's December 2017 announcement that the US would officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a departure from the previous US and international position of neutrality on the status of the city claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. On February 23, American officials announced that the Embassy will open in a temporary location in Jerusalem by mid-May 2018, ahead of the anticipated schedule.

"Land Day" is annually observed among Palestinians on March 30. It commemorates the events of that day in 1976 when six Arab-Israeli citizens were killed and hundreds more wounded or arrested amid a general strike and widespread protests over land confiscated by Israeli authorities.

Advice

Individuals present in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are advised to avoid all protests or other public gatherings due to the risk of violence and to monitor developments to the situation. Due to the underlying terrorist threat, travelers in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and to remain vigilant when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, prominent hotels and restaurants, etc.). As a reminder, several Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Israeli-Lebanese, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Egyptian borders.