Shiite leader urges support for Palestinians in Gaza

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Shiite leader Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim called on Iraqis on Sunday to “stand by” the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by Hakim’s office. “The Palestinian people in Gaza Strip came under bloody assaults and attacks by the aggressive Israeli forces, which left hundreds of people killed or wounded,” Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), was quoted in the statement received by IraqiNews.com. Palestinian cities in Gaza came under powerful air strikes on Saturday that left hundreds of civilian people killed or wounded in a measure Israeli authorities said came in response to missile attacks by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israeli settlements. The statement by Hakim, who also leads the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament with 83 out of a total 275 seats, described the Gaza incidents as a “human tragedy and formidable genocide,” appealing to Arab and Muslim nations as well as the international community to support the Palestinian people. Hakim also called on Israel to stop the siege it imposed on the Gaza Strip and immediately halt this aggression that leaves innocent Palestinian civilians killed.   AmR (P)/SR 1