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Oct 5, 2007 12:53 | Updated Oct 5, 2007 20:15
'Let Jews move to Europe or Alaska'
By AP AND JPOST STAFF
Millions of Iranians attended nationwide rallies Friday in support of the
Palestinians, while the country's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
Israel's continued existence was an "insult to human dignity."
Iranian protesters burn an effigy representing Israel and US during an
anti-Israel rally on "Al-Quds Day" (Jerusalem Day), in Teheran.
Photo: AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during Friday prayers in Teheran.
Photo: AP
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"The creation, continued existence and unlimited (Western) support for this
regime is an insult to human dignity," Ahmadinejad said. "The occupation of
Palestine is not limited to one land. The Zionist issue is now a global issue."
Ahmadinejad's remarks came as millions of Iranians held rallies across Iran to
protest Israel's continued control of Jerusalem.
The demonstrations for "Al-Quds Day" - Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem
- also spilled over into anti-American protests because of US support for
Israel.
In the capital Teheran, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets
as they chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." Some protesters also
burned American and Israeli flags.
State television reported similar large rallies in all other provincial
capitals and smaller towns across Iran.
The Iranian president once again said Palestinians should not pay any price
because Europeans committed crimes against Jews in World War II. He said they
could give a part of their own land in Europe or Alaska so that the Jews can
establish their country.
"I ask European governments supporting Zionists and the American people that
will you allow occupation of part of your land under a pretext and then talk
about a two-state solution?," Ahmadinejad said after the rallies.
Ahmadinejad said a "free referendum" was the solution to the Palestinian issue,
saying Jews, Muslims and Christians as well as five million Palestinian
refugees should take part in a vote to determine their own fate.
Ayatollah Mahould Hashemi Shahroudi, Iran's judiciary chief, said Friday's
rallies was "a good start for the destruction of the Zionist regime."
Parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian lands was a "blatant oppression" and warned that the relationship
between the Islamic world and the West won't improve as long as Palestinians
are not allowed to determine their fate in a referendum.
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has observed the last Friday of the
Islamic holy month of Ramadan as "Al-Quds Day," as a way of expressing support
to the Palestinians and emphasizing the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims.
Jerusalem is the third holiest city in Islam after the Saudi Arabian cities of
Mecca and Medina.
Meanwhile, thousands of Gazans marched from Beit Lahiya to Jabalya to
commemorate "Al-Quds Day." The protesters burned, Israeli, US and British
flags.
Also, on Israel's northern border, Hizbullah activists and Lebanese Shi'ites
held an anti-Israel protest next to the border fence.
Lebanese troops manned the rally and prevented the protesters from approaching
the border.
IDF troops in the North were instructed to raise their level of alert.
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