HIZBUT TAHRIR DENOUNCES ISRAELI AGGRESSION ON AL-AQSA

Makassar, Indonesia, Nov 1 (ANTARA) - Some 1,000 Muslims took to the streets in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Sunday to protest against Israel's aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The demonstrators who claimed to be members of the Islamic organization Hizbut Tahrir marched about seven kilometers from the West Irian Liberation Monument on Sudirman Street to the Mandala Monument and later to Al Markaz Al Islamic Mosque compounds in the city.

In the rally, the demonstrators, most of them women and children, set fire to a number of Israeli flags and expressed concern about the inability of the UN Security Council to face Israel and its allies.

They also asked the Indonesian government to initiate efforts to create peace and freedom for the Palestinian people.

Local Hizbut Tahrir spokesman Hasanuddin Rasyid said the organization strongly condemned Israeli troops' brutality against the Palestinians and urged an immediate end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

"The presence of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Zionist nation-occupied land is very important for Muslims. Therefore, let's unite against the Israeli occupation," he said.

The demonstrators also urged Muslim countries, Indonesia in particular, to send peace-keeping forces to conflict-ridden Palestine.

"The world's large Muslim countries must be united to condemn Israel's act. We urge the Indonesian government and military to send the Garuda military contingent to Palestine," he said.

In their rally outside Al-Markaz Mosque, the demonstrators renewed their call on Indonesian Muslims to condemn Israel. ***