Iran's Khomeini: Only way to solve crisis is to eradicate Israel Reuters

TEHRAN - Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini said on Friday the only way to resolve the Middle East crisis is by eradicating Israel, and called on the participants in the upcoming Arab summit to help Palestinians create their own state.

"The only way to end the crisis in the Middle East is to dry up its roots. What is at the roots of this crisis? It is the Zionist regime that has been imposed on the region," Khomeini told some 100,000 Basij Islamic militia members gathered on the outskirts of Tehran for military exercises.

Khomeini also called on Arab leaders attending the summit that will opens in Cairo on Saturday to help "clean Holy Quds (Jerusalem) of Zionists," and said those responsible for killing Palestinians in clashes with Israeli forces should be tried by Arab or Islamic courts.

"Decisions made by the Arab leaders' summit will be judged by history," Khomeini told the paramilitary volunteers, who waved Palestinian flags and voiced their readiness to join the fight against Israel.

Chants of "Ready, Leader, we are ready" and "Death to Israel" rippled through the crowd, which included rows of women militia members wearing traditional Islamic black veils.

Khomeini called on Iranians to donate money to help Palestinians "even though we cannot send weapons now and it is not possible for this nation's youth to go there." The Iranian leader called for the militant Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad to unite with radical members of the mainstream Fatah, saying deals made at the Sharm al-Sheikh summit would not curb anti-Israeli unrest.

"Shameful agreements at Sharm al-Sheikh and other such summits will have no effect other than bringing disrepute on those who make such accords," said Khomeini, who was shown on state television wearing a Palestinian checkered scarf under his black clerical robe.

Iran condemns the Middle East peace process as a capitulation of Palestinian and Islamic rights. The Islamic republic supports Islamic groups opposed to peace accords with Israel, but denies Israeli and U.S. charges that it provides support for attacks aimed at derailing the peace process.

http://www2.haaretz.co.il/breaking-news/peace_process/331896.asp

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 20, 2000

Answers

Now, them's nice peaceful words. Just what we need right now, during all this tension.

-- Buck (bigbuck@tailways.net), October 20, 2000.