Muslims Stage Anti-Israel Protests
Sword-wielding Shiite Muslim militants paraded in Beirut and east Lebanon on Friday, and thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran, demanding Israel’s destruction in rallies marking Jerusalem Day.
Muslim extremists staged similar protests in the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Istanbul, Turkey, and at the Israeli Embassy in Cape Town, South Africa.
Around the Arab world, ralliers chanted, “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” and burned flags of the two allies on a day decreed by Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Jerusalem Day falls on the last Friday of Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting. Its purpose, as decreed by Khomeini, is to stress Muslims’ solidarity with Palestinians and their determination to recover Jerusalem.
In Tehran, thousands of Iranians at the annual rally vowed to annihilate Israel and return Islam’s third-holiest city to Muslims, Tehran radio reported. The broadcast, monitored in Cyprus, did not indicate the size of the rally. But the state-run radio’s reporters on the scene said thousands of chanting marchers converged on Tehran University, where the rally ended with prayers led by President Hashemi Rafsanjani.
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