Hundreds protest in Cairo, Alexandria against Trump’s Jerusalem declaration

Hundreds of Egyptians demonstrated on Friday in the capital Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria against U.S. decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Hundreds protested at Cairo’s Al-Azhar mosque following weekly Friday prayers, raising signs and chanting slogans supporting the Palestinians and their right to establish an independent state and affirming Jerusalem’s Arab and Islamic identity, Egypt’s state-run news agency MENA reported.

In Alexandria, dozens protested at the Al-Qaed Ibrahim mosque in the central part of the coastal city, burning an Israeli flag and chanting “Jerusalem is Arab”.

Security forces deployed a number of armoured vehicles in the vicinity of the mosque. MENA reported that police have taken necessary measures to prevent any violations.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, drawing a flurry of condemnation from the Arab world and Western allies.

The move broke with US longstanding policy that the status of the city must be determined in negotiations with the Palestinians who seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Source: Ahram online