Palestinian unity government support from Iran

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Larijani yesterday said that Iran supports formation of a nationally unified government in Palestine.

The remark was made at a joint press conference with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Ramezan Abdullah.

In response to a question about Iran's plan on the unity and integrity of Palestinian groups, he said that the conflict between Hamas and the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Abu Mazen (Abbas) is against the interests of the Palestinian nation, urging that discords should be solved.

Larijani invited those involved in the conflict to hold talks about establishment of a nationally unified government.

Turning to his talks with Abdullah, the official hoped that the efforts of this and other Palestinian groups will materialize unification of Palestinians from various walks of life.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement appreciated Iran's support for all world Muslims, particularly the Palestinian groups, in campaign against the Zionist regime.

He blamed Palestine's enemies for inciting revolts among Palestinians and called on Iran to help Palestinians in confronting such revolts.

Abdullah pointed to the attempts of Hamas and Fatah groups to call for cease-fire, he noted, "We welcome any Arab-Islamic effort for establishment of unity and preventing bloodshed of Muslims." Meanwhile, he referred to the attempts of Saudi Arabia and Egypt to this end and underlined that Iran plays a decisive role in such a unity.

Concerning "martyrdom-seeking actions" in the face of the Israeli regime, he referred to them as a type of defense of Palestinian people and criticized the Western states policies, in particular that of the US, which are against a democratic government in the country.

Abdullah said that the genocide of Palestinians by Israel is a punishment for all of Palestinian people, adding that in its turn, the Palestinian nation use every available opportunity.

Meantime, Larijani dismissed the claims of some media about the arrest of seven Iranians along with a number of Hamas members by the Palestinian Fatah forces.