Jerusalem embassy violence - Israel shoots itself in foot

US President Donald Trump hailed Monday’s opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem as a “great day for Israel”. That reckless act was anything but for the dozens killed, and thousands wounded, by Israeli troops.

It may turn out not to have been so great, either, for Israel, as the brutality of its response to protesters is likely to reinvigorate attempts to give greater international recognition to Palestine as a sovereign state and spark calls for economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Jewish state.

In 2011, a number of EU states — including Ireland — upgraded the status of diplomatic missions from Palestine, giving them the rank of ambassador. The then foreign minister, Eamon Gilmore, hoped he could declare Ireland’s recognition of a full Palestinian state during his tenure.

#USEmbassyJerusalem https://t.co/f1SFvrkcAH

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018

That never happened, because the Palestinian Authority failed — and still fails — to have full and sole control over the territory to which it lays claim.

Hamas, regarded as a terrorist organisation by the EU and Japan, as well as by the US and Israel, is the only effective authority in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government was furious with the Irish move, seeing it as putting bilateral peace efforts out of reach and fementing violence. Yet, firing live rounds at children gives the lie to Israeli attempts at a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

While the Palestinians are counting their dead, the Israelis may have to count the cost of further international isolation.