U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who hosted the first session of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington, voiced confidence that this latest attempt to bring peace to the region could succeed where so many others have failed.
Ahmadinejad said that the talks, seeking to end a conflict that has boiled for six decades, would once again fail. He criticized some Muslim leaders for not providing all-out support to the Palestinians in their revolt against Israel.
"Palestine's issue cannot be resolved through talks with the enemies of the Palestinian nation. Resisting is the only way to rescue the Palestinians," Ahmadinejad told worshippers at Tehran University in a live broadcast to mark the annual Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in the Islamic Republic.
"How can these talks succeed when the mediators are those who created this conflict," he added. Netanyahu and Abbas have agreed to meet again on September 14-15 with Clinton also present.
"Jerusalem cannot be liberated through negotiations or dialogue ... resistance and Jihad is the only way to liberate Jerusalem from the dirt of the Zionist occupation," said senior Hamas figure Ismail Al-Ashqar.
"The nations of the region are able to eliminate the Zionist regime from the face of the earth," said Ahmadinejad, adding the Israeli "regime has no future. Its life has come to an end."
