Clashes Erupt Outside U.S. Embassy in Beirut Over Trump's Jerusalem Declaration
Lebanese security forces have employed tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to disperse hundreds of protesters outside the U.S Embassy in Beirut
Clashes have broken out between hundreds of protesters and Lebanese security forces outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Sunday during a demonstration against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
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Protestors have attempted to remove a roadblock protecting the embassy in an attempt to break in, media reports have said.
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Addressing the protesters, the head of the Lebanese Communist Party Hanna Gharib declared the United States "the enemy of Palestine" and the U.S. Embassy "a symbol of imperialist aggression" that must be closed.
Protesters burned U.S. and Israeli flags.
"We came to say to the U.S. Embassy that it is an embassy of aggression and that Jerusalem is Arab and will stay Arab," said Ahmad Mustafa, an official in the leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who was among the demonstrators.
Footage from the scene shows protestors prying open the gate of the compound, but being repelled by security forces.
Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and water canons at protesters near the U.S. embassy during the demonstration, TV footage showed.
Protesters, some of them waving the Palestinian flag, set fires in the street and threw projectiles towards the security forces who had barricaded the main road leading to the U.S. embassy in the Awkar area north of Beirut in the Awkar area.
On Monday, a large demonstration organized by Hezbollah is planned in the southern suburb of Beirut.