One of Indonesia's best-known clerics on Sunday urged Muslims from the world's fourth most populous Muslim country to fight in the Gaza Strip following Israeli attacks which have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians. Abu Bakar Bashir, who was alleged to have once headed the Southeast Asian militant network, Jemaah Islamiah (JI), preached to about 500 people at a mosque in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, urging them to join a jihad in the Gaza Strip. "The war in Palestine isn't a war between one country and another, it is a religious war. The Jews try to destroy Islam, and so Muslims must join, to fight in their own capacity," he said. "Their suffering is our suffering, their blood is our blood, their trouble is our trouble. Thus, we must defend and protect them."President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged Israel to put an end to the three weeks of violence, and has sent humanitarian aid for the victims in Palestine. The government has tried to discourage calls from more militant groups to send civilian fighters, and has offered to dispatch a peacekeeping mission to the Gaza Strip. "We have sent material aid and, of course, our prayers. Jihad is not yet possible because the access remains closed. Nonetheless, we are preparing ourselves as it is our obligation," Bashir said.