Iran's supreme leader reiterated Friday a call for the "cancerous tumour" of Israel to be eradicated, as fresh violence erupted that left five more Palestinians dead at the hands of Israeli troops.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivering a sermon at weekly prayers, said Israel's "crimes are even clearer than the sun at midday" and repeated his call for the Jewish state to be eliminated.
"The Islamic republic of Iran has made its stance on the matter clear from the very first day: this cancerous tumour must be ripped out of the region," he said to hearty cheers of "Death to Israel."
Khamenei, whose sermon was carried live on state radio, also blasted the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak ahead of fresh elections aimed at securing a mandate for a peace deal with the Palestinians.
"The Zionist butchers are trying to make believe that what is going on is an internal matter for the murderous Israeli government. But this is not an internal affair," he said.
He added that Washington's ongoing support for the Jewish state should lead the world to see "the true, ugly face of the United States."
He said the latest Palestinian uprising had foiled Israel's plans because the Jewish state had counted on the Palestinians "not having energy left to stand up to them."
With the latest Palestinian deaths, the death toll has risen to 333 in almost three months of bloodshed that erupted in Israel and the Palestinian territories in late September.
The overwhelming number of dead are Palestinians.
Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and has wholeheartedly welcomed the Palestinian uprising.
"What is important," said Khamenei, "is that the new Palestinian generation has understood the truth -- that if it wants to emerge from under these pressures, it must stand up and not negotiate."
He said the solution to the crisis was "a very simple formula: the Palestinian people must return to Palestine" -- TEHRAN (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
