Iran will always support the Palestinians and all Muslim countries should do so, Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday, after a fourth day of clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"The only solution to the current conflict is to continue the jihad (holy war) against the enemies of Islam, and that will not stop," he said.
"If Muslim countries fail to support Palestine, it will harm them. The Zionists and Americans, despite appearances, are weakened, and their defeat is near," he said, quoted by Iranian television.
He was speaking during a meeting with leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, who are currently visiting Iran.
"I hail our brothers and sisters, the Palestinian nation. Let them be assured the Iranian nation will always be at their side, and will help them by all possible means," he said.
He called on Muslim countries to "face up to their responsibilities" and support the Palestinians who have shown "strength and vigilance" in confronting Israeli troops.
"The Intifada (uprising) continues. It will not shrink at anything, not at threats, not at bullets," he said.
Meanwhile Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who is in Cuba, sent a "message" to the Palestinians, in which he "condemned the aggression of the Zionist regime towards defenseless people."
"The great Islamic duty is to protect the Palestinians," he said.
The current violence has left 36 people dead and about 1,000 injured -- TEHRAN (AFP)
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