AJC Calls Ahmadinejad Solidarity Visit to Hezbollah 'Outrageous Provocation'

News provided by

Oct 14, 2010, 05:22 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad's visit today near the Lebanon-Israel border an "outrageous provocation" that encourages Hezbollah and other forces seeking Israel's destruction.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO)

Addressing supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in Bint Jbeil, a few miles from the border, Ahmadinejad repeated his longstanding threats against Israel. He called for "Palestine" to be "forcefully freed" and for the "Zionists" to go "back to where they came from."

"With his visit to Beirut and southern Lebanon, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has brought his words of war as close to Israel as he physically could," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The marriage of fanaticism with nuclear weapons this regime seeks represents the gravest present threat to the region."

Reminding the international community again of the urgency to stop Iran's quest for nuclear weapons capacity, Harris also called for UN action to counter "Ahmadeinejad's determination to make Lebanon an Iranian protectorate under the thumb of Hezbollah."

Hezbollah serves in the Lebanese Parliament and Cabinet. Ignoring UN Security Council resolutions, Hezbollah, aided by Iran and Syria, has amassed as many as 40,000 missiles along the border with Israel.

http://www.ajc.org

SOURCE American Jewish Committee