At least 16 Palestinians in Gaza have been shot dead by Israeli troops in some of the bloodiest clashes for weeks, Palestinian officials say.
It comes ahead of the controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, which has infuriated Palestinians.
They see it as clear US backing for Israeli rule over the whole city, whose eastern part Palestinians lay claim to.
Top US officials, including President Donald Trump’s daughter and her husband, will attend the event.
Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, have led mass protests in a “Great March of Return” for the past six weeks. Israel says demonstrators are trying to breach the border fence.
The Hamas-run health ministry said a 14-year-old boy had been among those killed on Monday, and 500 people had been injured.
More than 50 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began. Thousands more have been wounded.
The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is not recognised internationally and, according to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war. It effectively annexed the sector, though this was not recognised by any countries until Mr Trump’s declaration in December 2017.
Since 1967, Israel has built a dozen settlements, home to about 200,000 Jews, in East Jerusalem. These are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Various countries once had embassies based in Jerusalem but many moved after Israel passed a law in 1980 formally making Jerusalem its capital.
President Trump’s decision last year to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital broke with decades of US neutrality on the issue and put it at odds with most of the international community.
Source: BBC
