The crowd sported branded baseball caps and Israel's prime minister wore red, white and blue as the United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, delighting Israelis and deepening Palestinian anger.

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"Our greatest hope is for peace," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a recorded video message, even as a spokesman for the Palestinian president accused him of sowing instability by overturning decades of U.S. policy on the status of the city. The inauguration of the embassy, after Trump outraged the Arab world and stoked international concern by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December, was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "glorious day".

Trump opted not to attend the ceremony in which a U.S. consular building was repurposed into an embassy, pending the construction of a new facility, probably years away. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both White House advisers, were there, seated next to Netanyahu opposite a stage with a backdrop of U.S. and Israeli flags. Two American pastors and a rabbi gave invocations.

Kushner, in a rare public speech, said the relocation from Tel Aviv, a diplomatically and politically sensitive step promised but never implemented by a succession of U.S. presidents, showed that Trump was a man of his word. The comments were telling, just a week after Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, a move that critics said weakened global trust in the United States.GAZA VIOLENCE

"When President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it," Kushner said, a reference to a campaign pledge to open a Jerusalem embassy. "Today also demonstrates American leadership. By moving our embassy to Jerusalem, we have shown the world once again that the United States can be trusted." Palestinians, with broad international backing, seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed, as its "eternal and indivisible capital". The Trump administration has avoided that description, and noted that the city's final borders should be decided by the parties.

The crowd, many wearing the caps marked "U.S. Embassy, Jerusalem, Israel" rose for numerous standing ovations. Attendants handed out pretzels and mineral water.A smiling Netanyahu, decked out in U.S. colours - a blue suit, white shirt and red tie - showered praise on Trump, a president with whom he is in lockstep on many regional issues. Thanking Trump for "having the courage" to move the embassy, Netanyahu said: "This is a great day. A great day for Jerusalem. A great day for the state of Israel. A day that will be engraved in our national memory for generations."Split screens on Israeli television stations showed a more complex story.

As coverage of the embassy ceremony ran on one side of the screen, the other broadcast the violence along Israel's border with Gaza, where dozens of Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli gunfire. Amid expressions of international concern and condemnation over the use of live ammunition, Israel said it was taking the necessary measures to prevent any breach of its border fence with the enclave run by the militant Hamas movement. Kushner, echoing the Netanyahu government's position that the six weeks of Gaza protests were being orchestrated by Hamas Islamists opposed to Israel's existence, said: "Even today those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution."Dozens dead in Gaza:

 Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday as the United States opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, a move that has fueled Palestinian anger and drawn foreign criticism for undermining peace efforts. It was the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since the Gaza conflict in 2014. Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 52 protesters were killed and more than 2,200 injured either by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with Turkey calling it "a massacre". The Israeli military said it was responding to violence from the protesters to defend Israel's border. In contrast to the scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the U.S. Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv. The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognised the holy city as the Israeli capital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for "having the courage to keep your promises".

"What a glorious day for Israel," Netanyahu said in a speech. "We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay." Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognised internationally, as its "eternal and indivisible capital". Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.Trump, in a recorded message, said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. envoy to the Middle East. Kushner said it was possible for both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to gain more than give in any peace deal. "Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together," he said in a speech. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States had opened an "American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem". He called the deaths in Gaza a massacre and announced a general strike on Tuesday.