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Hizbullah leader Nasrallah
Photo: AFP
Hizbullah launches campaign to aid Palestinians
Nasrallah in Lebanon announces 10-day campaign to collect financial donations for Palestinians facing Western aid boycott
Lebanon's Hizbullah group launched on Thursday a 10-day campaign to collect financial donations for Palestinians facing a crippling Western aid boycott.
Tens of thousands of supporters, waving Hizbullah's yellow-and-green flags, packed a square in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre to mark the sixth anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.
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He said the group would collect donations until June 5 and then send the money to the Palestinians. He gave no further details.
The United States and Europe have cut essential aid to the Palestinian Authority since the terrorist group Hamas formed a government after winning January elections. Hamas has refused to bow to international pressure to soften its stand on Israel despite the near collapse of the Authority due to the aid boycott.
Hizbullah, backed by Syria and Iran, launched a two-decade guerrilla war against Israeli occupation of south Lebanon that played a key role in Israel's decision to quit south Lebanon in May 2000, ending a 22-year occupation.
Hizbullah has said it provided some financial aid to groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad in recent years.Israeli security forces believe the group has also assisted terrorists in launching deadly attacks against Israel and setting up cells in the Jewish states.
Nasrallah urged Hamas and Fatah factions to resolve differences through talks. Clashes between the two Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip have raised fears of a civil war.
"We appeal to you ... To cooperate," Nasrallah said. "Don't allow for strife between you. It is one of the biggest mistakes, a historic treason, for the Palestinian brethren to fight among themselves."
