by WorldTribune Staff, December 8, 2017

A private French school in Lebanon issued an apology after a map in one of its geography classes showed Israel as Lebanon’s southern neighbor instead of “Palestine”. Meanwhile region-wide protests erupted following the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

Lebanese law bans dealing with or recognizing Israel, including showing it on maps.

The school apologized after complaints about the map from the parents of a fourth grade student, The Associated Press reported.

The incident came to public attention when the father of a 9-year-old girl posted the map on his Facebook page, saying “this is what my fourth grade daughter learned in class today.”

Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem in a second “day of rage” on Dec. 8 following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

One Palestinian was killed and dozens were injured in the Gaza clashes, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said in a statement its soldiers “fired selectively at two main instigators” of the Gaza clashes and confirmed hitting them.

Backlash from Trump’s announcement continued to pour in from several fronts on Dec. 8:

• Thousands of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Ramallah after the main weekly Muslim prayers, with protesters throwing stones at Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
• In Iran, tens of thousands of people rallied nationwide after Friday Prayers, with protesters in Teheran chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” and burning U.S. and Israeli flags. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said Trump’s move proved that the “only solution to the Palestinian issue is an intifada. Inflict as much damage as you can on this occupying and criminal regime,” Khatami said, referring to Israel.
• Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians marched in the streets of Beirut and thousands of others gathered near the Palestinian refugee camp of Chatilla in southern Lebanon.
• In Turkey, thousands of people gathered outside a mosque in Istanbul’s conservative Fatih district after Friday Prayers, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.
• Hundreds of Egyptians held protests at the famous Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo following Friday Prayers amid tightened security.
• In Pakistan, rallies took place in the cities of Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, with protesters burning effigies of Trump and chanting “Down with America” and “Down with Israel.”
• More than 1,000 Afghans staged protests in central Kabul, with demonstrators holding banners reading “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” and burning effigies of Trump as well as American and Israeli flags.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it would likely take several years before the U.S. Embassy would open in Jerusalem. Speaking in Paris, Tillerson also said Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital “did not indicate any final status for Jerusalem.”

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the “only realistic solution is based on two states, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.”

Officials in Ankara said Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey next week for talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a range of issues, including Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

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  Israel capital, not Palestine, Palestine capital, Private school in Lebanon apologizes to parents for map that showed Israel, Rex Tillerson, Trump Jerusalem, WorldTribune.com