A PALESTINIAN teenager was overwhelmed by the Malaysian show of support for Palestine at the Save Jerusalem rally at the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya today.

Shefaa Salleh, 16, said such expressions of support was not visible, even in Arab countries near Palestine.

The Palestinian, who holds a Syrian passport, has been in Malaysia with her family for the past six years, having come to the country when the war started in Syria.

“I came here today to stand for Palestine because it is not just about the land but Islam and Muslims,” she said. 

Sungai Besar MP Budiman Mohd Zohdi said he had joined the rally to support Palestinians.

“Support is important to strengthen the spirit of the Palestinians and other Muslims in defending Jerusalem,” he said.

Social activist Lee Lam Thye said he hoped that the message of the rally would be heard at the international level, particularly by the United Nations and United States President Donald Trump.

“The attitude and measures of Trump and his government are unacceptable at the international level. This is a matter of human rights and it has to be respected,” he said.

Aminah Mat Rasid, 52, who was at the rally with two friends from Gombak, Selangor, said this was the first time she had joined such a rally.

“The three of us came today because we wanted to express our opposition to Jerusalem being recognised as the capital of Israel.

“All Muslims must defend Palestine,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Association of NexGen Christians of Malaysia (Ancom), in a statement distributed at Putra Mosque, said Ancom joined Muslims today to show its support and solidarity with Muslims to protest against the United States.

“Claiming Jerusalem as the capital for one people not only damages the hope for peace between Israel and Palestine but deepens religious tension among Muslims, Jews and Christians,” it said. 

Ancom also urged all Christians to work for peace and harmony in that region so that all people can live side by side in safety, security, freedom and prosperity. 

National Students Consultative Council 2017 chairman  Saiful Asyraff Kamarudin said undergraduates throughout the country would hold solidarity rallies at all institutions of higher learning simultaneously every month beginning next month.

Civil servant Hafiz Hamizi Abdullah, 28, had taken leave and travelled from Johor Baru to attend the rally.

A medical doctor at the Lincoln University College, Dr Mahmoud Abumarzouq, expressed gratitude over the crowd of thousands of Malaysians at the rally, and said it showed that Malaysians were united in their support for Palestinians.

Abumarzouq, who hails from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, said it was good that Malaysians could protest peacefully and that its people knew the difference between good and bad in respect to the US’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. – Bernama, December 22, 2017.