Palestinians urge holy war in Iraq

Thousands of Palestinians staged pro-Iraq rallies today to mark the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, calling on Iraqis to rise up against the United States in a holy war.

Following Friday prayers, thousands of protesters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip burned Israeli and US flags and chanted slogans against US President George Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

In Gaza City, about 2,000 Islamic Jihad supporters, including children holding the militant group’s black flags, chanted “Death to America,” and burned effigies of Bush and Sharon.

“Our message to the world, to our brothers in Iraq: We are fighting against the same enemies, the same occupation. We are fighting in the same battle,” Mohammed al-Hindi, an Islamic Jihad leader, said.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, about 400 Palestinians from various groups marched through the city chanting “Bush and Sharon are terrorists”.