Iran marks intifada anniversary

Thousands of Iranians poured out of mosques in central Tehran yesterday to demonstrate their support for the Palestinian intifada, marking its first anniversary.

Marching in the vanguard of the officially sanctioned event were Palestinians receiving treatment in the Islamic Republic for injuries sustained in the fighting. Some protesters carried placards condemning Israel and the US plans to intervene in Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The streets of Baghdad swelled with similar demonstrations. In Damascus, however, the commemoration was low key. Hundreds of artists, intellectuals and political figures wearing anniversary t-shirts marched to parliament. Each person paid $100 for a shirt, the proceeds of the sale to be donated to Palestinian charities.

In Lebanon Palestinians demonstrated in refugee camps, brandishing the Palestinian flag and firing rounds into the air.

On Thursday Lebanese members of parliament joined several hundred Palestinians to stage a sit-in at the UN's regional headquarters in Beirut. While participants condemned the terrorist attack on the US, they said similar tragedies had been taking place in the Middle East since the establishment of Israel.

Elsewhere the anniversary was commemorated with political meetings. The Secretary General of Lebanon's Hizbullah movement, Shaikh Hassan Nasrallah, called upon the Arab governments to "rescue the intifada". Hizbullah's successful paramilitary campaign to end Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon is widely seen by the Arabs as the inspiration for the Palestinian uprising.

Spontaneous demonstrations are banned throughout the region because the authorities fear they could get out of hand.

There is a wide gulf between rulers and citizens over support to the intifada. Governments have given verbal support to the Palestinians but have failed to deliver a large proportion of the $1 billion in financial assistance pledged a year ago.

A survey conducted in five Arab countries earlier this year revealed that more than 65 per cent of respondents placed Palestine first on their list of priorities. The gap is even greater between the populace and governments prepared to join the US-led "war on terror".