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Tehran, 8 Dec. (AKI) - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be moved to Europe and expressed some doubt as to whether the Holocaust ever happened. The hardline Iranian leader made the statements in a news conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, after attending the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit. The statements follow an inflammatory call he made in October for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that "some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces and they insist on it to the extent that if anyone proves something contrary to that they condemn that person and throw them in jail." British historian David Irving was recently arrested in Austria for claiming that the mass extermination of the Jews by the Nazis did not happen.
"Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?"
"If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe - like in Germany, Austria or other countries - to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe. You offer part of Europe and we will support it," he added.
"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," he said at the media conference.
Ahmadinejad's comments in October for Israel to be erased from the world map, caused an international outcry with leaders such as Britain's Tony Blair, the United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, as well as top Israeli ministers, condemning the statements made by the Iranian president. The European parliament also called on the Iranian leader to retract the statement and protests were held outside the Iranian embassy in Rome, Italy. However, Ahmadinejad continued to defend the remarks made and even participated in an annual anti-Israel rally in Tehran.
(Smg/Aki)