Thousands rally in Jakarta against US Jerusalem move

Protesters in Jakarta rallied to condemn the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital [Darren Whiteside/Reuters]

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, against President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Sunday's protest was the fourth and largest mass rally in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, since Trump's announcement on Jerusalem's status on December 6. 

An estimated 80,000 protesters called on Trump to stop his plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera's Dessi Arianti, reporting from the protest in Jakarta, said that many of the marchers travelled from out of town to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

"Men, women and children, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, condemned the US move while rallying at the National Monument in Jakarta at sunrise on Sunday," Arianti said.

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"Many people, wearing white Muslim robes, held hands in prayers and called on Israel to leave Palestinian soil. Indonesia has been a long-time supporter of independent Palestine. Protesters called for a resolution to end the conflict and vowed to continue fighting for the cause," our correspondent said.

Anwar Abbas, a top scholar from the Indonesian Council of Ulema, read a petition calling on Indonesians to stop buying American products until Trump revoked his move.

"Don't rely on their products," he said, as the crowd - including men, women and children - responded by waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and shouting "boycott!"

Previous anti-American protests have unsuccessfully lobbied for a boycott of US goods.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said the protesters marched peacefully about 3km from the National Monument Park to the US embassy.

Some local media reported that the number of demonstrators was double the police estimate.

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About 20,000 security forces were deployed to secure the rally.

In the petition, the leaders and scholars urged Trump to immediately revoke his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital because it has hurt international justice, violated Palestinians' human rights and undermined peace efforts.

It also demanded nations not follow the US in moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and urged the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss Trump's declaration.

The chairman of the Muslim leaders' council, Ma'ruf Amin, said: "Let's fight together with the government and the world for the freedom of Palestine through political, diplomatic and economic ways."

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has strongly condemned Trump's move as a violation of UN resolutions.

Indonesia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and has long been a strong supporter of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

Trump's announcement overturned decades of US policy, and a long-standing international consensus, that the fate of Jerusalem be decided as part of a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians.

Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city's eastern sector form the core of their conflict, and Trump's announcement was seen as siding with the Israelis.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Source: Thousands rally in Jakarta against US Jerusalem move