Sudanese president denounces U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital

AL-GOLID, Sudan, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday denounced the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, citing it is an Arab-Islamic city.

Addressing a rally in Al-Golid town in Northern state, some 414 km north of Khartoum, al-Bashir reiterated the readiness of Sudanese youths to defend Al-Quds (Jerusalem).

"We say to (U.S. President Donald) Trump: who gave you the right to give Al-Quds to the Jews?" said al-Bashir.

The Sudanese leader arrived in Northern state on Sunday morning in a two-day visit to inaugurate a number of development projects and open the 4th session of the Al-Barkel Tourism Festival held in the Karima area.

On Dec. 6, Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The move has infuriated Muslims across the world, who revered Jerusalem as the third holiest site in their religion.

Israel took over East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and declared the whole city as its eternal capital in 1980. But the Palestinians insist that East Jerusalem should be the capital of their future independent state.

Waves of protests have been held in the past weeks by the Palestinians and other Muslims in the Middle East and around the world, calling on the U.S. to withdraw its decision. Enditem