Violence on the Gaza-Israel border peaked on Monday the 14^th of May this week, when over 60 Palestinian demonstrators were shot dead by soldiers of the Israel Defence Forces. This more than doubled the number of Palestinian civilians killed over the preceding six weeks, as they gathered near the fence separating Gaza from Israel, listening to speeches and demanding the right to return to the homes they had fled or been expelled from in 1948, when Israel declared independence. Israel charged Hamas with inciting violence at its border and responded with teargas and bullets.

Peace had little chance in a week chock-full with momentous events: Jerusalem Day on the 13^thcommemorating Israeli control over the Old City and all of Jerusalem after the June 1967 war; the 70^thanniversary of Israel’s declaration of statehood on the 14^th;Nakba(Catastrophe) Day on the 15^thcommemorating Palestinian expulsion from their homes upon the formation of Israel; Israeli Independence Day on the 18^th -19^th. The symbolic opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem by US president Donald Trump’s daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump, forty miles away from Gaza on the 14^th, right between Jerusalem Day and NakbaDay, was accompanied by the upsurge of deaths. The juxtaposition of celebration and tragedy on news screenssparked strong responses across the world.

At the United Nations, eight members of the European Unioncalled on Israel to restrain from using excessive force, and on Hamas to ensure protests in Gaza remain non-violent: “While recognizing the right to protect its borders, we expect Israel to respect the fundamental right to peaceful protests and the principle of proportionality in the use of force when defending its legitimate security interest.”

Singapore expressed concern over civilian casualties, and urged all sides “…to exercise restraint and do their utmost to protect civilians while taking urgent steps to de-escalate the situation.”

Turkey and Israel expelled each other’s ambassadors, and their leaders traded insults on Twitter.

Protests against the killing of Palestinian civilians erupted in major cities around the world, in Tel Aviv, Washington, New York, San Francisco, London, Brussels, Johannesburg and elsewhere.

MEI analysts had warned against President Trump’s decision in December to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, upending longstanding US policy and adding fuel to an already combustible region. The path to peace looks even longer than it did last week.