Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili, Oman's Grand Mufti, yesterday called upon Muslims to unite to foil the barbaric crimes being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in total defiance of the UN resolutions and the will of the international community.

"There is no better weapon than unity," asserted the religious head while addressing a big congregation at Al Thoba Mosque in Al Ghubra. "We will have to become one voice, one entity to defeat the enemy."

This was his first public comment since the Israeli escalation of aggression which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives in the last few days, prompting even U.S. President George W. Bush, known for his soft corner for the Jews, to urge Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to pull back his troops from the Palestinian territories 'without delay.'

The Grand Mufti paid glowing tributes to the heroic Palestinan struggle in the face of heavy odds, saying it is the duty of each and every Muslim to join hands with the Palestinan people to defeat anti-Islam forces. "Victory will be ours because our cause is just."

Later thousands of people, who had gathered at the mosque, took out a procession shouting slogans against Israel and the U.S. This was by far the biggest demonstration since the start of street marches in Oman about two weeks ago in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The participants also called for the U.S. boycott, saying it was Washington which has been abetting and encouraging a war-mongering Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in his nefarious designs.

"There won't be peace as along as a mass murderer like Sharon is around," shouted a Sultan Qaboos University student.

The Sharia Law College students also turned up in hundreds to denounce Israel's endless aggression which has led not only to the loss of hundreds of innocent Palestinians but also the demolition of the Palestinan infrastructure and houses and the shelling of mosques and churches.

"Sharon doesn't understand the language of peace. Let us pay him in the same coin," said a participant.

Similar demonstrations are also taking place in Nizwa, Sur, Sohar, Salalah and other main towns. "We salute Omani people for their unstinted vociferous support', Sami Khashram, a well-versed Palestinian who was born in the Occupied Jerusalem, told Gulf News.

"I am waiting for the day to return to my birthplace as a free and independent citizen. That day I am sure is not very far."