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Ahmadinejad advocates “free elections” for the region, and believes Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region’s future. On Quds Day in September 2010 he criticized the Palestinian Authority over its president’s decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the talks are “stillborn” and “doomed to fail”, urging the Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel. He said that Mahmoud Abbas had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back, saying, Ahmadinejad “does not represent the Iranian people, …, is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine”.
