© MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty ImagesJared Kushner delivers a speech during the opening of the U.S embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.
The White House laid the blame for the violence at the feet of Hamas, the fundamentalist Islamic group, but the international community condemned President Trump's decision to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv.
The President and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the architect of Trump's Middle East policy, maintained it was a "great day" for Israel.
Kushner; his wife, Ivanka Trump; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and about 800 well-dressed guests attending the opening at the former U.S. Consulate compound in southeastern Jerusalem that was rededicated as the new embassy.
About 50 miles away, more than 40,000 protesters at the Israel-Gaza border clashed with Israeli troops before, during and after the embassy kickoff.
Kushner, in his address at the ceremony, blamed the protesters, many of whom were hurling rocks, for the violence.
"Those provoking problems like we see today in Gaza are part of the problem and not part of the solution," Kushner said.
The commencement came on the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence. It was also the single deadliest day in the territory since the 2014 war with Israel.
Despite the bloodshed, Kushner told the embassy crowd that he still held hopes for peace, saying that the "journey to peace started with a strong America recognizing the truth."
© MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty ImagesPalestinian protesters run for cover as tear gas is released during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel.
"I don't think it hurts the peace plan. The peace plan will be introduced at the appropriate time, but what today is about is following through on what the President promised and believes," White House spokesman Raj Shah said.
"I think we for decades walked on eggshells pretending Jerusalem isn't the capital of Israel when it obviously is."
The relocation of the embassy - a campaign promise of Trump's - was hugely controversial because Palestinians consider the Holy City their capital as well.
© THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty ImagesPalestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel east of Gaza City on Monday.
The Israeli military estimated that more than 40,000 Palestinians took part in the protests at a dozen sites along the Gaza border fence, and said its soldiers were following "standard operating procedures" to push back Palestinians seeking to break through the fence.
At least 55 protesters were killed.
Israeli Army spokesman Ronen Manelis told reporters that there was "unprecedented violence" in the protests and that three groups of gunmen were operating under the cover of the demonstrations. Three of the dead were Palestinians who were killed while attempting to plant an explosive device along the border fence, the Israeli Army said.
© MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty ImagesStaff members prepare the stage ahead of the inauguration of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday.
Turkey and South Africa withdrew their ambassadors from Israel and the United States in protest.
The United Nations human rights chief demanded an end to the killing, which he called "outrageous human rights violations."
"Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now," said Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad, UN high commissioner for human rights.
© MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty ImagesPalestinians run for cover from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Monday.
"This decision that is igniting the anger of millions of Arabs, Muslims and Christians," Hariri tweeted Monday.
The new embassy allows "Israelis to spill more blood of innocent Palestinians and increases the intensity of extremism that threatens the world community," he posted.
Russia's top diplomat called the move "shortsighted."
Trump did not mention the violence in a Monday morning tweet about the embassy opening. He plugged the coverage of the conservative-leaning network Fox News.
Secretary of State Pompeo jumped into the fray, expressing the U.S.' hope for peace in the region, but he didn't mention the violence or the deaths.
"We remain committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.
With New Wire Services
Comment: Kushner is a Zionist robot with almost zero pretenses about being impartial about this conflict. While we know that Trump selected Kushner to be one of his lead men for "peace", the over-riding factor was that Trump knew it would please his Zionist benefactors to put Kushner in the middle of things. Still, if all this embassy moving and cozying up to Saudi Arabia is part of a larger plan to actually do something constructive in the region, it would be nice to see some hints of that. But don't hold your breath.