Iran criticizes West over Israeli-Palestinian issues

TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Tuesday criticized the West over its supports for Israel against Palestinians, the state-run satellite Press TV reported.

Larijani attacked the Western countries for giving Israel all the military support it needed to launch its deadly operation on the impoverished Palestinian Gaza Strip, the report said.

"Despite suffering heavy damages, Palestinians came out as the true winner of Israel's war on Gaza," Larijani was quoted as saying at a conference on "Gaza, Symbol of Resistance" in Tehran.

The three-week unprecedented Israeli military offensive on Gaza, which ended in January last year, left about 1,400 Palestinians killed and 5,500 others wounded.

The Iranian speaker also said that the conduct of the Israeli authorities and the West's lack of regard for the basic rights of Palestinians have left them with no choice but to resist, according to Press TV.

Iran has expressed its concerns over the continuing economic blockade on the Gaza Strip and has never hesitated to pronounce its all-out support for Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation of their lands.