Zionist agents responsible for PA clashes, says Iran
Iranian official blames Israel, US for Palestinian clashes in Gaza; warns Palestinians not to fall into Zionist trap
Mohammad Reza Bahonar, deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament said Tuesday, in regard to the internal crisis in the Palestinian Authority, that "the Palestinians must not fall into the Zionist trap."
According to Bahoner, the internal conflicts in the Authority were planned by "agents of the United States and the Zionists, and the worse it gets, the more the Zionist will benefit from the situation."
He appealed to all Palestinian factions to hold discussions between them and put an end to the internal conflicts, Iranian television reported.
Bahoner added that recent events in the Palestinian Authority have caused all the achievements of the unity government to be squandered.
He stated that the unity government represented the hope of the Palestinian people to pull themselves out of the internal conflicts, and said: "The Zionists are the enemy of Palestine and the Muslim world. The internal conflicts among Palestinians, planned by agents of the United States and the Zionists, are unacceptable."
He expressed the concern of the Iranian parliament from the "distressing situation in Palestine" and criticized international organizations and human-rights movements for their indifference. He said that their silence placed a big question mark over their legitimacy.
Situation unacceptable
Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian minister of foreign affairs, also commented on the situation and called for a comprehensive plan that would provide a solution for the situation.
He told al-Alam, an Iranian television station in Arabic, that Iran could not accept, under any conditions, the current situation in the Palestinian Authority.
He reiterated the Iranian call to all the Palestinian factions to maintain the peace and stated that the internal conflicts strengthened the enemies of the Palestinian people.
Iran supports Hamas, but unequivocally refutes claims that it funds the organization or trains its operatives.
Earlier in June, Mottaki visited Damascus, where he met with Khaled Mashaal, head of the political branch of the Hamas, and encouraged him to continue with the resistance.
