Leading Sudan opposition party holds pro-Palestine demo

By Buhram Abd al-Moneim

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The National Umma Party, Sudan's largest opposition party, organized a rally for Friday evening in the city of Omdurman to show solidarity with Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause.

According to party spokesman Mohammed Amin Abdel-Nabi, the event is intended to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's "unjust" decision last week to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The rally is to be held under the banner "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine", Abdel-Nabi said.

"The event will include a protest march from Omdurman’s Imam Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Mosque to Umma Party headquarters on Al-Murad Street," he added.

According to the spokesman, party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi -- along with a number of other political leaders -- is expected to deliver an address at the rally.

Last Wednesday, the U.S. president announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed city.

The shift in Washington’s longstanding Middle East policy sparked angry demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories and in several Muslim countries.

At a Tuesday summit convened in Istanbul, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation responded to the U.S. move by recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.