Iranians mark Al-Quds Day in support of Palestinians

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Iranians mark Al-Quds Day in support of Palestinians

(Xinhua) 09:30, August 03, 2013

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Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied Friday across the country to mark Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in solidarity with the Palestinians, condemning Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian lands.

In Tehran, the participants chanted slogans and carried banners in the rally, underscoring the return of dislocated Palestinians to their homeland and holding of democratic referendum as the way to solve the Palestinian issue.

Iranian government officials and military commanders also participated in the rallies in Tehran.

Al-Quds Day, an annual event that began in Iran in 1979, is observed on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic republic as well as in several Arab countries.

On Friday, Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani said that the Islamic world should unite to confront the "Zionist regime" of Israel, semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Rouhani told reporters on the sidelines of a rally here marking Al-Quds Day that "International Quds Day is a day to demonstrate the unity of the Muslim world and resistance against oppression and aggression."

He further described the occasion as "a reminder that Muslims will never forget their historic right to resist oppression and aggression."

Also, Iran's outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday the Palestinian issue cannot be solved through dialogue, referring to the resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestinians in the past days, Press TV reported.

Earlier this week, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators restarted their direct talks in Washington after more than two years of suspension. The two sides have agreed to start final status talks within two weeks either in Israel or the Palestinian territories.

However, Ahmadinejad said it would be "naive" to think that the issue of Palestine could be resolved through "talks and divvying up a territory," adding that Israel is a platform for the West to dominate the Middle East.

He said the Western supporters of Israel are sowing discord in Syria and Egypt in line with their efforts to establish a new Middle East.

Besides, a senior Iranian cleric said Friday that the U.S.- backed "compromise" negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel have never benefited downtrodden Palestinians.

"Over the past 60 years since the occupation of Palestine, these compromise negotiations have not yielded an iota of benefit for the oppressed Palestinians," Tehran's interim Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami was quoted as saying by Press TV.

He further described resistance as the only solution to the Palestinian cause and praised Palestinian fighters for their strong response to the Israeli aggression during its eight-day military offensive against the Gaza Strip back in November 2012.