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Iran’s leader calls for greater “jihad” against Israel |
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Sunday, 04 September 2005 |
Iran Focus
 Tehran, Iran, Sep. 04 – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the jihad against Israel must continue and be strengthened, Iran’s semi-official daily Jomhouri Islami reported on Sunday.
“The only way to fight the Zionist enemy is to continue and increase resistance and jihad”, Ayatollah Khamenei said at a meeting on Saturday with secretary general of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Abdullah, the hard-line daily Jomhouri Islami wrote.
Iran’s official policy is to call for the annihilation of the Jewish state. The country’s clerical rulers have been strongly opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ attempts to reach a comprehensive peace settlement with Israel. In August, Israel removed Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip after decades of occupation.
Khamenei said that the Israeli withdrawal was “the valuable victory” of jihadist groups, whom he urged to continue their struggle.
“The Zionist enemy’s retreat from Gaza is insignificant if you compare it to the demands and rights of the Palestinian nation. But it was a great victory over the enemy and supporters of the Zionist regime. It showed the desperation of the occupiers of Quds (Jerusalem)”, Khamenei said.
Khamenei added that “the failure of the United States in Lebanon and Iraq, and in its political confrontation with Iran” were all signs of “the enemy’s front losing strength”.
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