About 150 people were present at a protest rally organised by Islamic group Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) in Kuala Lumpur today to demonstrate against Israel's latest offensive against several refugee camps in the Gaza Strip.

Leading the rally was JIM central committee member Azahari Abdul Kadir, who addressed the crowds as they were dispersing after Friday prayers at the Pilgrimage Fund Board building in Jalan Tun Razak.

Azahari said "the rally is our way of registering our protest against Israel's state terrorism and the sponsorship that it enjoys from the United States."

"We also want to increase awareness among Malaysians that this is not a 'religious' issue, but one of justice and human rights," he told malaysiakini after his public address in which he said he was speaking on behalf of a 13-member coalition.

Apart from opposition parties Keadilan, PAS and Islamic NGOs, other groups making up the coalition include the civil rights committee of the Selangor Chinese Assembly, Center for Orang Asli Organisation, Citizens International, and human rights organisation Suaram.

Over the past 18 days, Israeli forces had been on the offensive in Gaza in an operation codenamed Days of Penitence, which the Israelis claim is aimed at stopping Palestinian resistance fighters from firing Qassam rockets into Israel.

According to news reports, out of the 132 Palestinians killed, mostly children and civilians.

Rally organisers said the demonstration today was also aimed at registering the disappointment of Malaysians with the decision of the US to veto the UN Security Council vote on an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Lost hope in US

JIM president Zaid Kamaruddin told the crowd that as Palestinians had lost hope in the United States despite its claims to be the "champions of human rights," the onus was on Muslims worldwide to bring an end to the protracted conflict.

"They are hoping that other Muslims do not give up (on Palestine) and to include the resistance fighters of Palestine and their wives and children in our prayers," he told the crowds.

PAS central committee member Dr Hatta Ramli who also addressed the gathering called on Muslims in the country not to forget the larger struggle of Muslims worldwide.

"We do not want people to forget this problem just because it has been going on for so long and so many people have died. We must not become immune to the fact that a genocide is still going on," he said.

"We hope that rallies such as this can remind us of problems faced by Muslims and remind us that we are part of a community who are under attack," he added.

Earlier this morning, an eight-member delegation submitted a "memorandum of protest" to the US Embassy. It was received by the embassy's second secretary Alex Sokoloff.

According to Azhari, Sokoloff said the embassy is open to the possibility of conducting a dialogue on the issue of Palestine between the coalition and the incoming American ambassador Chris LaFleur.