Author:
Publication: Middle
East News Line
Date: December 24, 2000
Hundreds of thousands
of Shi'ites around the Middle East called for the destruction of Israel.
The call came during
the marking of "Jerusalem Day," commemorated in Iran, Lebanon and Syria.
Shi'ites and their supporters called for the liberation of the Muslim homeland
in Palestine and the destruction of the current Jewish state. The
day is marked on the last Friday of the Muslim fast month of Ramadan.
"We have to do everything
we can militarily, economically and financially to support the Palestinian
uprising and free this holy land," former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani
told a huge rally in Teheran. "Israel is the most serious military
threat to the region."
The demonstrations were
held as in southern Iran dozens of Iranians were injured in clashes with
regime forces in anti-government protests.
In Damascus, Palestinians
held a similar demonstration in the Yarmouk refugee camp.
In Beirut, more than
100,000 supporters of the Iranian- backed Hizbullah attended a parade in
which movement leader Hassan Nasrallah called for the destruction of Israel.
A similar call was held
during a rally in the Gaza Strip organized by the Iranian-backed Islamic
Jihad.