'Palestine must be returned to Arabs'

Nasrallah says jihad is only way to "liberate" holy land; claims Israel, Jewish lobby rule the world.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, AP
Nasrallah 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Nasrallah 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
The entire land of Palestine is holy and belongs solely to the Arabs, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech delivered on Friday in honor of Al-Quds Day. "Palestine, from the sea to the river, is the property of Arabs and Palestinians and no one has the right to give up even a single grain of earth or one stone, because every grain of the land is holy. The entire land must be returned to its rightful owners," Nasrallah said. He said Israel and the "Jewish lobby" ruled the world and influenced the US and its allies, and that jihad was the only way for Muslims to achieve results. "Our lands will be liberated, not by begging the US or the West, but with will, determination, resistance and sacrifices made by the region's peoples," he said. Hizbullah's leader stressed the holiness of Palestine and the suffering of the Palestinians, saying "the Islamic nation has a historic commitment to Jerusalem, Palestine and the Palestinian people." Earlier on Friday, former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani warned the West - during a prayer ceremony in Teheran also marking Al-Quds Day - that its support for Israel would backfire. Rafsanjani, who is still influential in Iranian politics, said the US, Britain and France backed Israel - and this was dangerous. "They will put themselves in trouble, eventually," Rafsanjani said. Israel could "take tougher and more offensive action" than the United States against Iran and the Arab world, warned Rafsanjani, who is the head of the Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body that has the ability to appoint and dismiss the country's supreme leader. State-run television also aired clips on Friday featuring President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York. The president, who is in the US for the UN General Assembly meeting, said Israel did not have support among ordinary people in the United States. He also chided hundreds of demonstrators who protested him during his trip. "It was a big failure for them," Ahmadinejad said. The latest anti-Israel remarks made by Iranian leaders come as hundreds of thousands rallied in cities across the country to protest Israel's hold on Jerusalem. In Teheran, demonstrators chanted, "Death to America," and, "Death to Israel." Some protesters also burned American and Israeli flags. Teheran's Jewish community participated in the rally according to a statement by the Teheran Central Jewish Committee, a copy of which was made available to The Associated Press. State television reported similar large rallies in all provincial capitals and in smaller towns across the country. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has observed the last Friday of Ramadan as Al-Quds Day. Rallies were also held in Damascus. More than 3,000 people gathered at the Yarmouk refugee camp carrying Palestinian flags and anti-Israeli banners. The event was attended by several officials from Syria-based Palestinian terrorist organizations such as Ahmed Jibril, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General-Command. "This day is a day of popular anger in the Arab and Islamic nations. It is directed toward all those who are colluding against Palestine and Jerusalem," Jibril said in an apparent reference to Arab nations that have relations with Israel. "Jerusalem is being destroyed and Judaized every day while Israeli flags fly in their capitals." Another official, Ziad Nakhale of Islamic Jihad, said Jerusalem was holy for Muslims and "we call all Muslims around the world to liberate it." Twelve-year-old Muhammad Kheir, who took part in the rally while wearing a camouflage uniform, said he would never forget Jerusalem. "Palestine is ours and it is the most valuable thing for me. We will never forget it. This is what my father taught us," the boy said.