Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has vowed never to back down on efforts to defend Palestine even if “our bodies are cut into pieces”.

“We will not back down. Whatever happens, we will not back down.

“Just like what the mufti said in his sermon... Even if my body is cut into pieces, even if only a piece of flesh is left, I will continue to defend this principle,” he said to cries of “Allahuakbar”.

The prime minister was speaking to a crowd of more than 1,000 who gathered at the Putrajaya mosque for the “Save Jerusalem” rally this afternoon.

The rally was in response to United States President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Meanwhile, Najib also said that despite Trump being his good friend, he would not sacrifice the sanctity of Islam.

The prime minister also said that Palestine should be greater than it is now.

"We don't want a Palestine that is getting smaller, that is not the Palestine we want.

"We demand a more sovereign Palestine and we want East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.

"These three things we will not budge on," he added.

Earlier, Najib's arch nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad made an appearance at the Putrajaya mosque.

In a blog posting prior to that, the former premier had urged the Najib administration to make a meaningful stand instead of just holding demonstrations.