Ahmadinejad: Muslim unity will facilitate Palestinian victory

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday reiterated the need for unity among Islamic governments and nations and said their united support for the oppressed Palestinian people would facilitate finding a solution to the Palestinian problem.

The president's remarks were made at a meeting with Advisory Council (Shura) Speaker Mohammad bin Mubarak al-Kholeifi on the sidelines of the Third International Conference on Qods and Support for the Rights of Palestinian People which concluded its work in Tehran on Sunday.

"Palestine is the most important issue of the Islamic world," he said.

Hamas Political Bureau chief Khaled Meshaal yesterday praised Iran as a vanguard in support and assistance to the Palestinian nation.

Iran has always met the requests of the Palestinian nation for assistance, he said in an address delivered at the closing ceremony of the international conference in support of Palestine in Tehran Sunday.

The conference kicked off here Friday with Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei delivering the inaugural address.

Meshaal underscored the role Iran had played in the struggle of the Palestinian nation and praised it for keeping its promises over the years and dealing with Palestine honestly since the early days of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Sunday that the Islamic and Arab world have a weak performance on helping the Palestinian people. Rafsanjani said "Palestinians not only defend an Islamic and Arab state, but defend all countries in the region against expansionist plans of the Zionist regime." Rafsanjani said "There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. If each Muslim person pays just one dollar per year for the Palestinians, 1.5 billion dollars will be collected. This figure will be more than current help of Europe and US."