Roundup: Tehran conference on Palestine urges unity against Israel

In a statement issued Wednesday at the end of the conference on Palestine, the participants urged all Palestinian political groups to unite against what it called "decades of occupation" of their lands by Israel.

"The cause of Palestine should be the first and foremost issue of all the Muslim and Arab states in order to restore the rights of Palestinians and to liberate all their occupied territories," the statement read.

It also emphasized the unity among the Palestinians and the resistance against Israel as the only approach to upholding their "legitimate" rights.

"The world Muslims and world's freethinking people should assist the Palestinians in this respect" to support the Palestinian Intifada, it added.

The two-day conference, dubbed the 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, sought to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the face of Israeli occupation and expansion of Jewish settlement on their lands.

At the closing ceremony of the conference, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the Palestinian issue as a deep wound in the body of the Islamic world and as an embarrassment for the international community and some Muslim states, Tasnim news agency reported.

The Palestinian issue "is not a problem of a people or a nation but a sign of injustice and oppression and disregard to the international law," he said, adding that it is also "a symbol of continued endeavors of a nation to restore their rights."

"The current chaotic situation in the region and the atrocities committed by violent and extremist ideologies in the name of religion play into the hands of Israel and the winner of such a deplorable situation is Israel," said Rouhani.

"Today, the Zionists (of Israel) see a historic opportunity in the wars and internal disputes among Muslims," he said.

The establishment of fair and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is possible only through putting an end to the occupation of the Palestinian land and full restoration of the Palestinian nation's rights, including the right to self-determination and the right of refugees to return to their motherland, Rouhani stressed.

At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced the reconciliation plans with Israel and urged resistance to liberate the Palestinian occupied territories.

The earlier reconciliation plans have proved wrong and the recent efforts to show friendship with Palestinians are aimed to divert the course of resistance through secret deals with the enemies, Khamenei said.

"The resistance will never be the subject of prey (to the plots), and the third Intifada will be another defeat for the Zionist regime (of Israel)," he said, according to the supreme leader's official website.

Khamenei also said the creation of Israel has been the plot hatched by extra-regional powers, and "has caused the fake being (Israel) to replace the real being (Palestine)" in the region.

He advised the Islamic states to avoid "useless" crises and differences, but to concentrate on the issue of Palestine as the core issue of Islam.

"Otherwise, the potentials and capabilities of the nations will go waste in the face of vain struggles, which would provide opportunities for the Zionist regime to become even stronger," he said.

The Iranian top leader urged "all the Islamic and national movements to serve the cause of Palestine" and stressed that "the degrees to which the Islamic republic will maintain relationships with the resistant groups depend on their adherence to the principles of resistance."

Also on Tuesday, Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri suggested at the conference that the Islamic states shut their embassies in Washington if the U.S. decides to relocate its embassy to al-Quds, or Jerusalem in Israel.

The embassy relocation plan is a scheme to disrupt peace, Berri said, criticizing the U.S. government for backing Israel policies, including the expansion of Jewish settlements on the Palestinian lands.

Meanwhile, Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, the visiting head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, said here that the Palestinian people have firm determination to resist the Zionist regime of Israel and will never give in.

Local reports said about 700 foreign guests and representatives of the pro-Palestinian organizations took part in the conference in Tehran. Endit