Arab politicians recently took a stand against U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel ... and got kicked out of the Knesset for doing so.
The protests occurred during U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's speech, which concluded his regional tour and saw him become the first U.S. VP to speak at the Israeli Knesset.
In the midst of his speech, a group of Arab lawmakers with the Joint Arab List Alliance, the country's third-largest party, raised signs of Al-Aqsa Mosque and began chanting "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine."
Moments later, they were escorted out of the building by security forces.
"We oppose the policies of Mr. Trump. He is not only the enemy of Palestinians, he is the enemy of peace," Jamal Zahalka, a protesting MP, told Al Jazeera.
"We stood up today to protest Pence's speech. He is an unwanted visitor to the region. We raised the slogan that Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine in response to Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," he added.
Towards the end of his speech, Pence reassured Israeli parliamentarians that the U.S. embassy in Israel will move to Jerusalem by the end of 2019.
"Our protest today in the plenum is in honor of all who oppose the occupation and dream of peace"
In a tweet following the protest, Ayman Odeh - Joint List chairman -expressed his pride in the MPs success in speaking out on behalf of the millions who cannot.
"There is a voice in Jerusalem that says Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine"
According to Al Jazeera, Palestinian members of the Knesset had communicated their intentions of protesting against Pence's speech.
"Israeli security forces knew that we would protest. They attacked us in a savage way but this came in our favor because even though they assaulted us, the international media gave attention to this scene and recognized there is a voice in Jerusalem that says Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine," Zahalka said.
During his speech, Pence reiterated that "Jerusalem is Israel's capital."
"By finally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the United States has chosen fact over fiction. And fact is the only true foundation for a just and lasting peace," Pence said, according to the BBC.
A video of the incident has gone viral
"Jerusalem will always be the capital of Palestine. Always."
For years, the fate of the ancient city has been in a constant state of tug-of-war. The western part of Jerusalem was captured by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Following the 1967 Six-Day-War, East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel, removing the fence that split the ancient city into two.
The international community has not recognized East Jerusalem as part of Israel since. Instead, it is treated as occupied territory under international law.
Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. No country in the world recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, except the U.S.
Russia announced its recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state.
However, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the entirety of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"Jerusalem is Israel's capital. No one can deny. It doesn't obviate peace, it makes peace possible because recognizing reality is the substance of peace, it's the foundation of peace," Netanyahu said, according to Voice of America.