Nasrallah: No one can relinquish one clod of Palestinian land
Hezbollah's leader makes rare public appearance for al-Quds Day, slams Israel in speech: 'Palestine stretches from sea to river. Israel is a tumor which must be uprooted'
Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah made a rare personal appearance away from his hideout in light of al-Quds Day, the Iranian-introduced holiday marking solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
In an event held in the Sid-a-Shuhadaa complex in the Hezbollah-controlled Dahieh quarter of Lebanon's capital Beirut, Nasrallah declared that "Palestine must return to its rightful owners."
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"The Palestine which we mean is a Palestine which stretches from the sea to the river," the Shiite group leader stressed.
Nasrallah speaks to crowds
"No king, president, sheikh, state or country has the right to give up even one clod of Palestinian land, one drop of water or oil from Palestine."
Nasrallah continued and said that Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini's definition of Israel as a "cancerous growth" was accurate: "As you know, tumors spreads, and the only solution for this tumor is to uproot it."
Nasrallah added; "Israel poses a critical threat not only to Palestine, but to all the world." According to him, Israel threatens Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, and they hope for its disappearance.
"Those who stand against the Zionist project defend Palestine and his children and grandchildren's future," he added.
You fight Iran, forgot about Palestinians
Nasrallah said in his speech that the Israeli-Arab conflict and the struggle against the "Zionist enemy" must be the top priority, and that "if it was so from the start, we wouldn't be where we are today."
Preparing for Quds Day,in Lebanon (Photo: AP)
Nasrallah criticized some of the region's governments for involvement themselves in other wars: "Why did you leave Palestine and go to fight in Afghanistan?" he asked rhetorically.
"A new enemy was created named 'the Iranian growth' and a war has been run against Iran in the course of which hundreds of billions of dollars where squandered," Nasrallah continued.
"Money has been spent, and armies trained to fight Iran, not Israel, and every warship comes with a guarantee to the US not to use it against Israel. If one fifth of that effort was invested in Palestine, it would have been freed."
"We in the Hezbollah will stand by Palestine and the Palestinian people and we're working on good, strong ties with all the Palestinian factions even if we differ on matters related to Palestine and Syria."
According to him, "Jerusalem must unite us."
Nasrallah fired up the crowds and said: "They want Shiites out of the equation of the Arab-Israeli conflict, meaning taking Iran out of the equation. Therefore, we say to the US, to Israel, the English, their accomplices and every enemy and friend – today on Al-Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan, we will not abandon Palestine and its holy sites."
'Old wound'
Earlier on Friday, on the Israel-Lebanese border dozens of protestors gathered, hoisting Hezbollah flags. On Thursday, Nasrallah's men hitched a sign near the border ahead of Friday's events with the Hebrew and Arabic inscription: "We're coming."
Hezbollah marks al-Quds Day nar border
Next to the inscription in the sign - hoisted in a hill overlooking the events – an image of the Al-Aqsa Mosque appeared. Later today, the demonstrators are expected to attend a prayer on Fatima Gate, an old border crossing to Israel.
Meanwhile, according to the Iranian Press TV website, millions of Iranians took to the streets, "in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian nation, voicing their anger at the policies of the Israeli regime and its allies and calling for the liberation of Palestine."
Protesters are carrying Palestinian flags and anti-Israel signs and are chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.
Demo in Sydney, Australia (Photo: AFP)
Protest in Thailand (Photo: Eilon Weisman)
Iran (Photo: EPA)
Similar al-Quds Day marches were held in dozens of other countries, and in Thailand dozens protested outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok.
Iran has been marking al-Quds Day since 1979 after Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as International al-Quds Day, calling on Muslims across the world to mark the annual occasion by holding street rallies.
According to the SANA news agency, Iran's president Hassan Rohani attended the events in Iran and said that "The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed."
Later, Iranian state TV said Rohani's statements were "misrepresented."
Nimdor Semel contributed to this report
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