Arab Israelis protest US Jerusalem recognition in Jaffa, north

Demonstrators wave Palestinian flags, chant their willingness to die for holy city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

Hundreds of Arab Israelis on Saturday protested against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with participants waving Palestinian flags and declaring their willingness to die for the holy city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The largest demonstration was in the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Jaffa, with protesters affiliated with the Islamic Movement chanting they were ready to die for Al-Aqsa, Channel 10 reported.

The mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, stands on the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount.

The protesters carried a picture of Sheikh Reid Salah on which it was written “Jerusalem and the land are ours.”

Salah, a firebrand preacher and leading member of Israel’s now-outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamist Movement, is currently on trial for incitement to terror.

מאות מתושבי יפו השתתפו היום בתהלוכה שאירגנה המעוצה המוסלמית בעיר במחאה על הכרזת טראמפ. המשתתפים הניפו דגלי פלסטין ושלט עם תמונתו של השיח' ראאד סלאח עם הכיתוב "ירושלים והאדמה שלנו"וקראו קריאות בנשמה ובדם נקריב את עצמנו למען מסגד אלאקסא pic.twitter.com/6iqgQzDVKQ

— sami abdulhamid سامي عبد الحميد (@samiaah10) December 16, 2017

A few hundred protesters also demonstrated in the northern Arab village of Bi’ina on Saturday evening, according to Channel 10.

מאות מתושבי הכפר בענה בגליל השתתפו בתהלוכת לפידים במחאה על הכרזת טראמפ pic.twitter.com/Hf8jPbVu2K

— sami abdulhamid سامي عبد الحميد (@samiaah10) December 16, 2017

The protests came after police in Jerusalem arrested 14 people overnight suspected of involvement in rock-throwing and other violence against security forces. Some violent incidents and clashes with police were also registered in East Jerusalem overnight Friday-Saturday.

Earlier in the week, dozens of Arab Israelis demonstrated outside the American embassy in Tel Aviv against the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs criticizing Trump, including one that likened the American president to a snake.