Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta, Oct 13 (EFE).- Thousands of people in Malaysia and Indonesia on Friday took to the streets to show solidarity with Palestine, as the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas intensified into its seventh day, resulting in over 2,000 deaths.
In Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and several other cities, thousands of people poured onto the streets after Friday prayers, condemning Israel’s military operations in besieged Gaza, where Israeli authorities recently asked residents to evacuate the northern part of the Palestinian enclave.
In Kuala Lumpur, thousands assembled near Malaysia’s National Mosque, displaying the Palestinian flag and chanting “Free Palestine” slogans.
Around one hundred others marched towards the United States Embassy to protest against Washington’s support for Israel in the conflict.
They held banners with messages such as “Stop Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” while some protesters stepped on the Israeli flag on the street.
The protests were held under strict security measures, with Malaysian security forces accompanying the demonstrators in the streets.
Several politicians, including former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, also attended the protest.
“No matter which (political) party we belong to, we are united” in support for Palestine, Yassin said.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, thousands of citizens in Jakarta held protests to express their support for Palestine and condemn Israel’s ongoing operation in Gaza.
Demonstrators denounced Israel as the “real terrorist.”
Both Malaysia and Indonesia, as Muslim-majority countries, have a long history of supporting the Palestinian quest for an independent state.
On Sunday, the government of Indonesia – a country with the world’s largest Muslim population, and which maintains complex relations with Israel – called for an “immediate cessation of violence” in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Protests in support of Palestine and against the continued Israeli airstrikes on besieged Gaza have also taken place in other countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, among others. EFE
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