Palestinians protested in the West Bank while black-clad activists were among hundreds of demonstrators who protested Donald Trump's swearing-in on Friday clashed with police a few blocks from the White House, in an outburst of violence rare for an inauguration.

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At least 217 people were arrested in the melees in the US capital, police said.

The burst of civil disorder followed a fierce presidential campaign that ended in a stunning victory for Republican Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 and left the country divided.

Palestinian protestors in Bethlehem

The Arab world responded negatively to Trump's inaugural promise to wipe out radical Islam. Alongside congratulations and messages of support, many expressed concern for the future.

Palestinians protesting Trump in Bethlehem

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a statement posted in his name on the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, congratulated Trump. He added, "I look forward to working with him for the sake of peace, security and stability in a world that is troubled and in a region that lives a tragic era, and to contribute to creating a safe future for everyone."

Caricature in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed showing the world beginning to count

Despite Abbas's felicitations, Palestinians nearby Crossing 300 in Bethlehem publicly burned a banner that displayed Trump's face and the words "Stop Racism" in English. Other protestors displayed signs opposing Trump's stated intention to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem and burned one of those, as well.

Last week, several Palestinian villages saw demonstrations against Trump organized by the Fatah party. The potential embassy relocation featured strongly in those protests as well.

Palestinian protestors in Bethlehem

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was the first world leader to telephone and congratulate the new president on his victory over Clinton, released a statement that read, "The President looks forward to strengthening the friendship and enhancing the special strategic relations that bind Egypt and the United States of American at all levels."

Caricature from Al Quds Al Arabi

It added the Egyptian president "emphasizes that Egypt looks forward to a new momentum in the trajectory of Egyptian-American relations under the administration of President Trump that shall serve the shared benefit and interest of the Egyptian and American peoples."

Palestinian protestors in Bethlehem

Shortly thereafter, Saudi King Salman offered his best wishes and hoped to strengthen the ties between the two countries.







Many of Trump's supporters traveled to Washington to cheer their new president on Inauguration Day. Tens of thousands of detractors are expected to march peacefully on Saturday.

In the violence, knots of activists in black clothes and masks threw rocks and bottles at officers wearing riot gear, who responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades as a helicopter hovered low overhead.

A leader of the alt-right movement, Richard Spencer, was giving an interview when an unknown protestor punched him in the face. He tweeted shortly thereafter, "No serious damage. I can take a punch."

At one flash point, a protester hurled an object through the passenger window of a police van, which sped away in reverse as demonstrators cheered. Earlier, activists used chunks of pavement and baseball bats to shatter the windows of a Bank of America branch and a McDonald's outlet, all symbols of American capitalism.

Police confronting DC violence (Photo: AFP)

Multiple vehicles were set on fire, including a black limousine. A knot of people dragged garbage cans into a street a few blocks from the White House and set them ablaze, later throwing a red cap bearing Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan into the flames.

Police said six officers were injured in scuffles with protesters. The people arrested would be held overnight before making court appearances on Saturday, Peter Newsham, interim chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, told a news conference. Newsham added that police would continue to monitor security around the night's celebrations.

Friday's protests played out just blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue, where New York businessman-turned-Republican politician Trump took part in the traditional parade a newly sworn in president takes from the US Capitol to the White House.

Violence in DC (צילום : רויטרס)

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The various protest groups scattered around the city chanted anti-Trump slogans and carried signs with slogans including "Trump is not president" and "Make Racists Afraid Again."

"Trump is not going to be stopped at the top, he's going to be stopped from the bottom, from people rising up," said Ben Allen, a 69-year-old retired teacher from San Francisco. "We support the right of everybody in this country, no matter what nationality, what religion, the color of their skin, to be respected as a human being, and this guy doesn't respect anybody."

'Didn't expect violence'

Trump supporter Ryan Shiring, 21, stood nervously with a group of friends near a pile of smoldering trash cans.

"We thought there would be protests but we didn't expect violence," said Shiring, a college student from Hartford, Connecticut. "We were hoping for a completely peaceful transfer of power."

Burning a limo in DC (Photo: AFP)

Democratic officials, including Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, condemned the violence.

The US Secret Service, Washington police and other law enforcement agencies had about 28,000 officers in place to secure a roughly three-square-mile (7.8 square km) of the city.

Trump, a former reality TV star, angered many liberal Americans during his stunningly successful campaign with demeaning comments on women and immigrants. His inauguration speech was a populist and nationalist rallying cry.

Protesters and police said the violent activists were acting independently of organized opposition to Trump.

The Disrupt J20 group on Twitter said its anger was not directed only at Trump, and that it would also have demonstrated had Democrat Hillary Clinton won the election last November.

DC protestors (Photo: AFP)

Not far from the White House, Bob Hrifko, a member of the Bikers for Trump group, said he was struck in the face with an aluminum chair when he tried to intervene in a scuffle involving police and protesters.

"We need more order. This ain't right," said Hrifko, who was bleeding from a cut under his eye.

The number of people who turned out for the midday swearing-in ceremony in the rain appeared to be significantly smaller than the estimated 2 million who attended Democrat Barack Obama's first inauguration in 2009. Overhead video of the National Mall showed sections of the white matting laid down to protect the grass were largely empty.

The city's Metro subway system reported ridership levels as of 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) at less than half of what was seen in 2013 or 2009 and roughly on par with George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005.

Sympathy protests were held around the nation and the world, in cities including Los Angeles, Tokyo and London.

Damage in DC (Photo: AFP)

In Seattle, one person was shot in the abdomen during a demonstration at the University of Washington, the Seattle Police Department said on Twitter. Demonstrators gathered there to protest Trump and conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who gave a talk on campus, local media reported.

In Portland, protesters threw rocks, bottles and flares at police dressed in riot gear, who fired irritant and flash-bang devices back at them, according to local media and police.

But in Moscow, Russians hoping Trump will usher in a new era of detente with their country celebrated his inauguration.

In Washington, David Guthrie, a long-haired, bearded, 36-year-old from South Bend, Indiana, stood stark naked on a street corner with an obscenity and "Trump" written on his buttocks in black magic marker.

As he stood, he was pepper sprayed by police, but stood with his eyes clenched, saying he wanted to prompt "a national conversation on the illegitimacy of the Trump presidency."

"I need a shower," he said, as fellow protesters helped him walk away, wrapped in a silver blanket.