Thousands of Muslim protesters flooded the main streets of the Indonesian capital yesterday, condemning continuing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territories and Lebanon that have killed scores of civilians.
The government of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has called on Israel to stop the strikes and urged the disputing parties to get back to the negotiating table.
Around 6,000 supporters of the Muslim-oriented Prosperous Justice Party [PKS] chanted "Allahu Akbar" [God is greatest] and waved Palestinian, Lebanese and Indonesian flags as they peacefully marched around a central Jakarta roundabout. Loudspeakers blared out anti-Israel songs.
PHOTO: AFP
"Save Palestine! Free Palestine and Lebanon from the arrogance of Israel," read a huge banner.
"A few troops are captured and Israel goes on killing so many innocent civilians, bombing cities and destroying public facilities from power to waterworks. How can we not show our care about this?" said protester Soni Suardi, standing beside his 11-month-old son's carriage decked with small Palestinian flags.
"The United Nations can't do anything about Israel's aggression and the US unreservedly supports any action by the Zionist state," protester Mohammad Sidiq said.
Some rally participants burned mock Israeli flags and repeatedly trampled on a white cloth that bore the Star of David before the crowd dispersed at midday.
Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs yesterday, the fifth successive day of its offensive in Lebanon, with no sign that its attacks on the Hezbollah guerrilla group and civilian installations were near an end.
Israel says the onslaught, which has killed more than 100 people, all but four of them civilians, is meant to cripple Hezbollah and force Lebanon to dislodge the Syrian-and Iranian-backed group from its southern border strongholds.
Hezbollah has rained about 700 rockets on a score of towns in northern Israel, killing four Israelis, since it provoked the latest conflict by capturing two Israeli soldiers and killing eight in a cross-border raid on last Wednesday.
The campaign in Lebanon coincided with an offensive Israel launched in the Gaza Strip late last month to try to retrieve another captured soldier and halt Palestinian rocket fire.
Yesterday, Israeli forces moved back into the northern Gaza strip, killing at least three militants and wounding 10.
Back in Jakarta, a rally speaker said Indonesians were ready to combat Israel if the government gave them the green light.
"We are waiting for [Indonesian President] Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to send forces to Palestine," cleric Jafar Sadiq told the protesters who replied by punching their fists to the air.
Yudhoyono has condemned the Israeli attacks but the government has repeatedly said it was unnecessary for Indonesians to travel to the Middle East to help Palestinians fight Israel.
Indonesia, where 85 percent of the country's 220 million people are Muslim, cooperates closely with Washington in anti-terror efforts in Southeast Asia, but is a strong critic of much of its Middle East policy.
Indonesia has no diplomatic relations with Israel, while it recognizes the Palestinian territories' government as independent.
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