'Free Palestine': Malaysia and Indonesia join in global protests against Trump's Jerusalem embassy move

Protests outside the US embassy in Malaysia and Indonesia have broken out as the Muslim world reacts in anger to the American president's announcement.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

08 December, 2017

Malaysia - Malaysians protest Trump move

Malaysians and Indonesians protested outside the US embassies on Friday against the American president's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

US President Donald Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday and outlined plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move has been widely condemned in the Arab world and internationally.

In Kuala Lumpur, more than a thousand protesters, led by sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin, marched from a mosque following the Friday prayers to the US embassy.

Protesters halted traffic and chanted "Free Palestine" and "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine".

See in pictures: Pakistan protests Trump declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

Khairy addressed Trump in a speech after handing a protest note to an embassy official, saying: "Mr President, this is an illegal announcement. Jerusalem is an occupied territory. You must not even set foot in Jerusalem. The world will rise against the United States.

"Trump has to understand that Jerusalem is not his to give and the decision for whatever status of Jerusalem should not come from America," said Ulya Aqamah bin Husamudin, a leader of the Malaysian political party BERSATU.

Mr President, this is an illegal announcement. Jerusalem is an occupied territory. You must not even set foot in Jerusalem. The world will rise against the United States

In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, more than 300 demonstrators gathered outside the US embassy to protest Trump’s "blind support" of Israel.

Neither Malaysia nor Indonesia hold diplomatic ties with Israel, and both are strong supporters of Palestine.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its capital, a position nearly the entire world rejects saying its status should be determined in peace talks with the Palestinians.

Jerusalem is a key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and many Arab leaders and others have reacted in anger.

"Mr Trump! Jerusalem is a red line for Muslims," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech, echoing alarm expressed by Palestinian and Arab leaders.

In his address, Erdogan warned that any move to back Israel's claim to the city would mobilise "the entire Islamic world" and threatened to sever Ankara’s recently-renewed diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

Turkey will hold a leaders' summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday in Istanbul to discuss Trump's decision.