Iran Urges Abbas to Unite Palestinian Groups
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to rally divided groups of Palestinians together to "free their land," according to his official website on Friday.
"All Palestinian groups should be united, because then they will have more chance of freeing their land," Ahmadinejad told Abbas, who was making his first visit to Tehran to participate in a two-day Non-Aligned Movement summit.
"Any time that you and other Palestinian brothers in different groups are ready, we will warmly welcome you in Iran so you can sit and talk with one another and come up with understanding and unity among all Palestinians," Ahmadinejad told Abbas.
Abbas was said to have replied that he was ready to talk to Hamas to achieve Palestinian unity.
"I am aware of the value of unity and reconciliation in Palestine and I know that Israel more than anyone is pleased with differences among the Palestinians and thus we are ready to resume talks with our brothers in the Gaza," the Palestinian leader said.
Iran -- which does not recognize the state of Israel -- has traditionally given backing to Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian group that rules Gaza. It sees Hamas's rival, the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority run by Abbas, as too moderate in its relations with the Jewish state.
"We are the only country which has never recognized the Zionist regime and we have believed and believe now that they are occupiers who have forced their way to the region and are killing Palestinians," Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have repeatedly called Israel a "cancerous tumor" that should be removed from the Middle East, prompting opprobrium from the United Nations and many countries.
The 120-member Non-Aligned Movement is expected to adopt a resolution on Friday calling for the recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state recognized by the United Nations.
Source: Agence France Presse
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