Liberate Palestine from Israeli tumour: Iran

Tehran, Feb. 21: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Tuesday for the “complete liberation” of Palestine from the “tumour” of Israel, renewing his regime’s refusal to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

Mr Khamenei was speaking at the sixth international conference in support of Palestinian intifada (uprising), one of a number of showcase events the Tehran authorities organise in solidarity with the Palestinians.

“This cancerous tumour, since its start, has grown incrementally and its treatment must be incremental too,” Mr Khamenei said.

He added, “Multiple intifadas and continuous resistance have succeeded in achieving very important incremental goals.

“It continues to advance towards its other objectives, ultimately the complete liberation of Palestine,” he added.

Mr Khamenei listed Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 and from Gaza in 2005 as two major achievements so far.

Moderate President Hassan Rouhani and the conservative brothers who head Parliament and the judiciary — Ali Larijani and Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani — flanked the supreme leader as he spoke.

Among the guests from the 80 countries taking part in the conference were the Parliament speakers of Algeria, Mali, North Korea, Lebanon and Syria, and the leader of the hardline Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, Ramadan Shalah.

Ever since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran has been implacable in its opposition to Israel and has provided extensive support to Palestinian militant groups. It expressed strong backing for the two Palestinian intifadas of 1987-1993 and 2000-05.

Mr Khamenei said the most important achievement of the Palestinian “resistance” movement had been “creating a fundamental obstacle against the Zionist project... by imposing a war of attrition on the enemy”.