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At least 31 Palestinians have been wounded in clashes in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank, during protests against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

One person is in a critical condition.

Mr Trump’s announcement – met with worldwide dismay – reversed decades of US policy on the sensitive issue.

Israel deployed hundreds of extra troops in the West Bank as Palestinians went on strike and took to the streets.

Protesters set tyres alight and threw stones, and Israeli troops fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live bullets.

Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel but fell short, Israel’s army said.

In Gaza, according to Reuters news agency, Palestinians threw stones across the border fence at Israeli soldiers who responded with live fire.

Many of Washington’s closest allies have said they disagree with the move, and both the UN Security Council and the Arab League will meet in the coming days to decide their response.

There are fears the announcement could lead to a renewed outbreak of violence. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has already called for a new intifada, or uprising.

Why did Trump reverse US policy?

The US president said on Wednesday that he had “determined it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel”.

“I’ve judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.

He said he was directing the US state department to begin preparations to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

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Despite warnings of regional unrest over any such move, the decision fulfils a campaign promise and appeals to Mr Trump’s right-wing base.

Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was “nothing more or less than a recognition of reality”, he added. “It is also the right thing to do.”

Mr Trump said the US would support a two-state solution – shorthand for a final settlement that would see the creation of an independent Palestinian state within pre-1967 ceasefire lines in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, living peacefully alongside Israel – “if agreed to by both sides”.

The president also refrained from using Israel’s description of Jerusalem as its “eternal and undivided capital”. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of any future Palestinian state.

What has been the reaction?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was profoundly grateful to Mr Trump, who had “bound himself forever with the history of the capital”.

He also said Israel was “in touch with other countries to follow suit. I have no doubt other embassies will move to Jerusalem – the time has come”. He did not name any of these countries, although the Philippines and the Czech Republic have been mentioned in Israeli media.

The mood has been very different on the Palestinian side.

The leader of Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, has called for a “day of rage” on Friday and said it should “be the first day of the intifada against the occupier”.

“We have given instructions to all Hamas members and to all its wings to be fully ready for any new instructions or orders that may be given to confront this strategic danger,” Ismail Haniya said in a speech in Gaza.

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Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ rival Fatah movement is seeking to protest through diplomatic means, by filing a complaint to the UN Security Council and pushing for a strong stance by the Arab League.

“We are going to declare the United States disqualified as co-sponsor of any peace process or political process,” spokesman Dr Nasser Al-Kidwa said. “In our mind, it has lost its ability to do or perform any efforts in this regard.”

• Which countries condemned Trump’s move?

There has also been widespread condemnation across the Arab and wider Muslim world, with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning Mr Trump that he was “throwing the region into a ring of fire”.

The leaders of the UK, France and Europe have all said they disagree with the US announcement. French President Emmanuel Macron said it contravened international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

The EU’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, said the move had “the potential to send us backwards to even darker times than the ones we are already living in”.

Why is the announcement significant?

Jerusalem is of huge importance to both Israel and the Palestinians. It contains sites sacred to the three major monotheistic faiths – Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

• What are the alternatives to a two-state solution?
• Why settlement issue is so difficult

East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, was annexed by Israel after the Six Day War of 1967, but before now it has not been internationally recognised as part of Israel.

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.

Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS

Image copyright EPA

Residents of Los Angeles’ wealthy Bel-Air neighbourhood have found their homes under threat after another wildfire erupted in California.

The so-called Skirball Fire destroyed several homes in the exclusive area, quickly spreading over 150 acres.

It is the latest eruption of wildfire in the state, which has already seen widespread destruction from a series of uncontrolled blazes.

The largest, named the Thomas Fire, has covered some 90,000 acres.

By Wednesday night local time, California’s fire service said it had threatened 12,000 buildings, destroyed 150, and was only “5% contained”.

Mandatory evacuation orders remained in several areas, as strong winds helped to spread the flames.

Authorities issued a purple alert – the highest level warning ever issued in the state – amid what it called “extremely critical fire weather”.

Ken Pimlott, head of California’s fire response, told reporters: “There will be no ability to fight fires in this kind of wind.”

He said evacuations would be prioritised.

The nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) cancelled all classes on Thursday, despite the university campus lying outside the evacuation zone on the city’s west side. It said it had taken the decision “given the array of uncertainties”.

Many schools have also been closed.

In Bel-Air on Wednesday, firefighters were seen removing artwork from opulent homes as they attempted to contain the fire.

The neighbourhood is home to celebrities and business leaders including Beyoncé and Elon Musk.

Singer Lionel Richie cancelled a Las Vegas performance that had been scheduled for Wednesday evening, saying he was “helping family evacuate to a safer place”.

A large estate and vineyard owned by billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch was also threatened, and suffered some damage.

The Los Angeles Times said Mr Murdoch had paid $28.8m (£21.5m) for the estate four years ago – a sum 12 times the average family home price in Bel-Air of $2.45m.

The Getty Museum, which is also at risk, said it would remain closed on Thursday. It said it had not removed its artworks and that air filtration systems were protecting its collection – which includes pieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh and Turner – from smoke damage.

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The Thomas Fire in Ventura County remains the largest of the current blazes, having spread as far as the Pacific coast, with satellite images showing large areas of scorched earth.

Another blaze north of Los Angeles, named the Creek Fire, was also only 5% contained and covered some 12,600 acres. But it has only destroyed four buildings in the more sparsely populated area.

Across the entire state, more than 200,000 people have been evacuated.

One LA resident, 84-year-old Patricia Moore, was loading her belongings into her car when she told the AFP news agency: “Yesterday it was further north, but this morning we woke up and it was east of us.

“We heard the fire engines before six o’clock this morning, and we said, ‘Maybe we should start getting our stuff into the car.'”

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Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS