Jerusalem ? A senior leader of the militant Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, urged Iraq Friday to defend itself against any invading U.S. and European troops by recruiting “thousands, tens of thousands” of suicide bombers.

The Hamas political leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, made the declaration in a speech before about 2,000 Palestinians gathered at the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

But Rantisi said he was not advocating that Palestinians volunteer for duty.