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Thousands of Indonesians Stage Anti-Israel Protest
JAKARTA, Aug 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Thousands of Indonesian Muslim students staged a protest Friday against Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, burning the Israeli flag outside the United Nations office in Jakarta.
The students, many of them women wearing hijab (Islamic headscarves), shouted, "God is greatest" and "Destroy Israel."
The protesters marched along the capital's main thoroughfares from a central Jakarta mosque after Friday prayers, causing severe traffic congestion, and assembled outside the U.N. office.
"Israel and U.S.A. are the world's number one terrorists," read a huge banner. "Wanted dead or alive: Ariel Sharon," read another, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is most reviled by Arabs and Muslims for his role in massacres against Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
"We urge the Indonesian government and the U.N. to condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms for its violence against Palestinians," said Ahmad Lukman.
The protesters went on to the U.S. embassy a few blocks away, which was guarded by scores of armed police.
"America is a coward" and "America is the land of Zionism" the crowd chanted. A protest statement was handed to a U.S. official. The crowd later dispersed peacefully.
The death toll from 11 months of Israeli military crackdown on a Palestinian Intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation stands at 736, including 568 Palestinians, mostly teenagers and children, and 146 Israelis.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, has no diplomatic relations with Israel but protestors criticized former President Abdurrahman Wahid and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab for reaching out to the Jewish state.
More than 85 percent of the country's 212 million people are Muslims.
Anti-Israeli occupation protests, ranging as far as Surabaya, Mataram and West Jakarta, also took place on Friday.
However, a demonstration in Surabaya saw a rowdy 800 protesters from the Anti-Zionist and Friends Movement (GAZA) scuffling with the police when they attempted to get closer to the U.S. Consul General office in Surabaya.
The police put up a cordon in front of the Consul General's office and blocked the protestors from reaching the U.N.'s office, located in central Jakarta. The organizers delivered vibrant pro-Palestine speeches to the huge crowd.
Firman Arifin, one of the organizers of the march, said the movement strongly criticized Israel for its "bloody" actions in Palestine.
He said it was unpardonable what Israel did at the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's holiest sties. Israel has repeatedly stormed the holy site, shooting and arresting Muslims inside the mosque's compound.
Arrifin said his group urged the Muslim world to immediately wage war against Israel, adding that the Muslim world must reconvene the boycott of Israel at all levels.
"We in Indonesia are ready to struggle for the Muslims in Palestine," he said.
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