Egyptian police arrest protesters marching against Trump's Jerusalem move

Egyptian police arrested a number of people in Cairo on Friday protesting against US President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Hundreds of Egyptians joined protests after Friday prayers at the famous al-Azhar mosque, as well as in Tahrir Square in Egypt’s capital city Cairo, amid heightened security.

The protesters chanted "down with Israel" and “we shall give our blood and souls to Palestine” while burning pictures of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, along with US and Israeli flags.

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Local sources told The New Arab that Egyptian security forces arrested several protesters in Tahrir Square.

The protests come after Trump outraged the world by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The move ends seven decades of US ambiguity on the status of the Holy City, which is vociferously claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians, and his decision immediately caused a stir with US allies who condemned the move.  

"Mr Trump! Jerusalem is a red line for Muslims," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech, echoing alarm expressed by Palestinian and Arab leaders.

In his address, Erdogan warned that any move to back Israel's claim to the city would mobilise "the entire Islamic world" and threatened to sever Ankara’s recently-renewed diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

Turkey will hold a leaders' summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday in Istanbul to discuss Trump's decision.

Saudi Arabia's royal court condemned the decision as "irresponsible". 

Protests have been taking place globally against Trump's decision including in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan. People are also due to hit the streets in London on Friday night outside the US embassy.