- Pakistanis stand in solidarity with Palestine
- Iran’s cleric says only intifadas can turn day into a dark night for Israel
- Japan, other Muslim minority countries witness protests against Trump’s decision
Activists belonging to various religious and political parties on Friday took to streets across the world to condemn the United States’ decision of declaring disputed Jerusalem Israel’s capital and shifting its embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.
The Trump administration’s “disastrous” decision also sent shockwaves across Pakistan, where people belonging to different strata of society came out on streets to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
The US instalments in the country had seen tighter security measures to discourage the protesters from breaching the security cordon.
The protesters, sharing their pro-Palestine stance and anti-Trump hatred, chanted slogans against the US, for what they termed a grave injustice to the oppressed people of Palestine.
Islamabad, the federal capital of the country echoed with “Death to Trump” and “Trump is mad” slogans as hundreds of protesters, in separate rallies, censured the US for its move that could escalate tensions in the already chaotic the Middle East.
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Islamabad and the local traders held separate rallies after Friday prayers in Aabpara Market. Over a hundred lawyers gathered in front of the Parliament House, while Muslim Students Federation organised a rally at the National Press Club.
MNA Ayesha Gulalai also addressed a small protest rally in front of the press club. “Jerusalem is a disputed territory. The US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is unacceptable and condemnable. The move is a threat to global peace,” she said.
Provincial capitals of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Lahore and Peshawar, also witnessed the pro-Palestine demonstrations. The protesters chanted “Down with America, down with Israel, and no to Israel occupation”.
In Lahore, Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed promised bigger protests over Jerusalem and urged the government to convene a conference of Muslim states. “Being the only nuclear state of the Islamic world, Pakistan should take the lead,” Saeed said.
Hitting the road in Quetta, various religious parties—including the JI, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslim (MWM)—condemned the US decision.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Assembly also adopted a resolution against the decision. Six lawmakers debated the resolution tabled by the opposition leader.
Kashmir
Divided Jammu Kashmir boiled with protest rallies and demonstrations in all major cities and towns after Friday prayers. Protesters took to the streets in AJK’s capital town where participants of a mammoth protest rally denounced Trump’s actions. Similar displays were seen in other AJK cities including the divisional headquarters of Mirpur and Rawalakot.
All the processions turned into a mammoth protest rally at Shaheed Chawk where speakers belonging to various political, religious and public representative organisations strongly condemned the US for deciding to relocate its embassy to occupied Jerusalem.
In Srinagar, the capital of occupied Kashmir, the protesters marched at several places in the main city and other parts of the region after Friday prayers. They chanted slogans “Down with America” and “Down with Israel”, while in some places, the demonstrators also burned the US and Israeli flags.
Authorities imposed a curfew in parts of Srinagar and banned Friday prayers at the city’s main mosque, fearing the protests could morph into violent action against Indian rule.
Meanwhile, protests raged in Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, India-held Kashmir, Jordan, Tunisia, Somalia, Yemen, and Indonesia. People in Japan and other Muslim minority countries also stood out in solidarity with the cause of the people of Palestine.
Turkey
Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marched after Friday prayers in Istanbul in an angry protest at the decision of US President Donald Trump.
Chanting slogans including “Jerusalem is ours and will remain so!” and “down with America, down with Israel”, the protesters marched after prayers at the Ottoman Fatih mosque in the centre of Istanbul.
Other protests took place elsewhere in Istanbul, Ankara and across Turkey. Some protesters threw a placard with a picture of Trump and the slogan “servant of Zionism” to the ground and stamped on it with their feet.
Bulent Yildirim, head of the pro-government Islamic charity Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), which helped organise the protest, condemned Trump’s declaration over Jerusalem.
Iran
After the Friday prayers, Iranians took to the streets of Tehran and other cities to protest against Trump’s decision, calling for “death” to Israel and the US and burning their flags.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, an ultra-conservative and a key leader of the main weekly Muslim prayers, said Trump had drawn a line on years of peace efforts by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “Only intifadas can turn day into a dark night for the Zionist regime,” he said.
In his Friday sermon, Khatami warned that Iranian missiles can reach Israel and destroy its cities. “We build missiles and we will increase the range of our missiles as much as we can, to thousands of kilometres, in order to deprive White House dwellers of a good sleep,” he said. “If one day the Zionist regime wants to make a mistake, we will level Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground,” he added.
Afghanistan
Over 1,000 Afghans staged protests after Friday prayers in Kabul to condemn the decision by US president. The protesters, holding banners reading “death to Israel” and “death to America”, burned effigies of Trump as well as American and Israeli flags in the centre of capital Kabul.
A few dozen tried to reach the heavily-barricaded US embassy, but were quickly pushed back by Afghan security forces well before reaching it. In the western city of Herat, an AFP correspondent reported some 2,500 protesters staged demonstrations demanding Trump “reconsider his decision”.
Egypt
Hundreds of Egyptians protested the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The protests, reported by state-run TV, took place at the famous Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo following Friday prayers amid tightened security. The protesters chanted “down with Israel” and “we sacrifice our blood and souls for Palestine.”
Jordan
In the Jordanian capital of Amman, hundreds of protesters chanted “Jerusalem is Arab” and “America is the head of the snake.” Demonstrators stomped on a poster that showed Trump alongside a Nazi swastika.
Jordan has a special stake in Jerusalem. Its monarch is the religious guardian of the Muslim shrine, and the kingdom has a large Palestinian population.
Lebanon
Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians marched in the streets of Beirut in protest against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, several hundred people demonstrated outside the US embassy in the capital Jakarta, carrying placards that said “no to Trump” and unfurling a large Palestinian flag.