Dozens of leftists and Islamists Lebanese demonstrators clashed with security forces outside the US Embassy in Awkar, Beirut, on Sunday, in response to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Naharnet reported. Protesters waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags, wearing Arafat-style black-and-white checkered scarves, chanted slogans against Trump.
Lebanon is home to 450,000 “Palestinian refugees,” nearly 10 percent of the population.
The protesters assembled hundreds of yards from the embassy to burn an effigy of Trump, as well as American and Israeli flags together with piles of trash, sending thick smoke into the air.
Police blocked the protesters from the walls of the embassy complex with a metal gate and barbed wires. The demonstrators tried to remove the barbed wire and climb over the barricade while throwing stones, at which point security forces responded with tear gas and water canons, injuring several demonstrators.
The Lebanese government has called on the protesters not to damage property in the area, Al Jazeera reported.