[Dialogue] Iran's president says move Israel

[Harry Wainwright]

Colleagues, take a look, please. Peace, Harry 
  _____  


BBC NEWS

Iran's president says move Israel 

Iran's conservative president has said that Israel should be moved to
Europe. 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that if Germany and Austria felt responsible for
the Jewish Holocaust, they should give up land to make room for Israel. 

"You oppressed them, so give a part of Europe to the Zionist regime so they
can establish any government they want," he said on a visit to Mecca. 

The president's remarks were quickly condemned by Israel and the US. 

"This is not the first time, unfortunately, that the Iranian president has
expressed the most outrageous ideas concerning Jews and Israel," Israeli
foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. 

"He is not just Israel's problem. He is a worry for the entire international
community," he added. 

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Iranian leader's comments
"further underscore our concerns about the regime". 

"And it's all the more reason why it's so important that the regime not have
the ability to develop nuclear weapons," he said. 

Mr Ahmadinejad's stance drew condemnation from French President Jacques
Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who were meeting in Berlin. 

"The comments by the Iranian president are totally unacceptable," said Ms
Merkel. 

'Palestinians paying the price' 

In October, Mr Ahmadinejad caused an outcry by calling for Israel to "be
wiped off the map". 

They have no roots in Palestine but they have taken the fate of Palestine in
their hands 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
President of Iran 

In his latest remarks, he accused European governments of backing Israel
because of the Holocaust. 

"Is it not true that European countries insist that they committed a Jewish
genocide? They say that Hitler burned millions of Jews in furnaces... and
exiled them," Mr Ahmadinejad said at a news conference in the Saudi Arabian
holy city. 

"Then because the Jews have been oppressed during World War II, therefore
they [the Europeans] have to support the occupying regime of Jerusalem. We
do not accept this," he said. 

"The question is, where do those who rule in Palestine as occupiers come
from? Where were they born? Where did their fathers live? They have no roots
in Palestine but they have taken the fate of Palestine in their hands," Mr
Ahmadinejad added. 

"Isn't the right to national self-determination one of the principles of the
United Nations charter? Why do they deprive Palestinians of this right?" 

The president's comments come as Iran is mired in controversy over its
nuclear programme, which it says is solely for the provision of fuel, but
which the US says is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. 

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report in September said
questions about Iran's nuclear programme remained unanswered despite an
intensive investigation. 

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4510922.stm

Published: 2005/12/08 18:19:42 GMT

C BBC MMV

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://wedgeblade.net/pipermail/dialogue_wedgeblade.net/attachments/20051208/62c23d6a/attachment.htm
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 1123 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://wedgeblade.net/pipermail/dialogue_wedgeblade.net/attachments/20051208/62c23d6a/attachment.gif