By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Tens of thousands of Iranians marched through the streets of Tehran in support of the Palestinians, while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel’s continued existence was an “insult to human dignity.” The demonstration and Ahmadinejad’s remarks came as millions of others across the country protested on Al-Quds (Jerusalem) day, a day of protests against Israel’s occupation of the third holiest city in Islam after Mecca and Medina.

Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, the Iranian people observed the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as “Al-Quds Day” to support the Palestinians. On Friday, many poured into the streets as they chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Some protestors also carried anti-Israeli banners and burned Israeli and American flags.

President Ahmadinejad is known for his controversial comment calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map” back in 2005. The hard-line president on Friday has vowed that Iran would continue to work until “all of Palestine is liberated.” He has once again reiterated that Iran does not recognize Israel and has described the Holocaust as a myth. The president said the “Zionists” should move out of the Middle East entirely, and “give these vast lands of Canada and Alaska to them to create a country for themselves.”

Ayatollah Mahould Hashemi Shahroudi, Iran’s judiciary chief, said Friday’s demonstration was “a good start for the destruction of the Zionist regime.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Iran defiant over nuclear issues – 5 October 2007

Al Jazeera – Iran marks Jerusalem day – 5 October 2007

Fox News – Millions of Iranians attend anti-Israel rallies called ‘Al-Quds Day’ – 5 October 2007