On Friday and in an unexpected move but it seems on the occasion of the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the British government announced that it intended to label Hamas “a terrorist organization” on Friday. British Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Twitter that she had “acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety” as the military wing of the resistance movement has been banned in the UK since 2001. The ban, which requires parliamentary approval, would make it illegal in Britain to be a member of Hamas or to express support for the movement, with a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.

This British move faced protests and strong reactions by the Muslim states and Palestinians but it pleased the Zionists who saw the British support of them publicly. Of course the move was unexpected but it was not strange because everybody is well aware of the history of the emergence of the Zionist regime as this regime was almost created by the British.

The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War, which laid the foundations for the entity of Israel. The declaration is seen as a catalyst for the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) where more than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes. The Balfour Declaration came in the form of a letter from Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community. It was published on November 2, 1917.

So Priti’s announcement was not strange but it was somewhat strange because of timing of its announcement while the world is trying to solve the Palestinian issue.

The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas has decried the British government’s decision to designate the group “a terrorist organization” as “continued aggression” on Palestinians and their rights. In a press release on Friday, Hamas said, “Unfortunately, Britain continues with its old delusion, supporting the aggressors at the expense of the victims, instead of apologizing and fixing its historical sin against the Palestinian people,” referring to the Balfour Declaration and the British mandate that handed over Palestinian lands to the Zionist movement.

The British move demonstrates the occupying regime’s attempts to criminalize the struggle of the Palestinian people and therefore the regime needs public support of its mentors like UK and the West.

Unfortunately the passiveness of the international bodies like the United Nations and indifference of the Western states have emboldened the Zionists to continue their crimes while the world is watching their atrocities.

On Thursday the United Nations has overwhelmingly adopted a resolution, which grants Palestinians permanent sovereignty over their natural resources in the Israeli-occupied territories, including East al-Quds.

The Economic and Financial Committee of the UN General Assembly, also known as the Second Committee, endorsed a draft resolution entitled “Permanent Sovereignty of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East al-Quds, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources” by 157-7 votes, with 14 abstentions.

But we can realize by seeing the result of this resolution that although majority of the world supports Palestinians, the U.S. and UK are the main supporters and godfathers of the Zionists as they can veto any resolution against the occupying regime. So such resolutions are waste of time and energy and the world needs a united but effective stance to resolve the Palestinian issue and pushing back the Zionists.

As long as the West’s support from the Zionists continues, the Palestinian issue will not be resolved and Palestinians themselves should fight for their lands and they should not wait for any help from the Western-oriented bodies which are under influence of political and financial power of the West.

There are only two solutions for this saga: one is diplomatic and peaceful which is to hold a referendum and to observe the public opinion and the second solution is to fight till dead to save the lands from the hands of usurpers and currently it seems Palestinians have no option but to continue their intifada (Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation) and struggle against the Zionists unless the West and the Zionists come to their senses for choosing the diplomatic and peaceful solution.

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General Ismail Qaani’s remarks at a ceremony in Tehran Saturday on the 40th day since the passing away of his deputy Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi came in the wake of the recent 11-day Israeli war on Gaza which marked an unprecedented show of force by the Palestinian resistance.

“In the first three days of the Palestinian war with the Zionist regime, we fired as many missiles at the occupied territories as the entire 22-day war. This is the power of the Resistance Front,” General Qaani said, referring to the war that began on December 27, 2008.

According to the general, “more than 3,000 missiles fired by the resistance into the occupied territories were produced in the same geographic area” which was pulverized in 2008 under a ferocious Israeli aerial campaign and came to be known as the Gaza massacre.

“From now on, the message of the resistance to the Palestinian children is that ‘your plans must be for the administration of the whole of Palestine’, and without a doubt, the Zionist regime must think of a time when this land will no longer be under their control,” General Qaani said.

“I advise all Zionists to go back and buy your own houses again before the houses you sold in Europe and America and elsewhere and came to the land of Palestine become more expensive than they are today.”

Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza on May 10, after Palestinian retaliation against violent raids on worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and plans to force a number of Palestinian families out of their homes at Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Apparently caught off guard by unprecedented rocket barrages from Gaza, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on May 21, which Palestinian resistance groups accepted with Egyptian mediation.

“The Palestinian resistance acted in such a way that from the first day, the Zionist regime begged the intermediary countries to call and press for the Palestinian children to stop the war,” Qaani said.

The Palestinian resistance, he said, set preconditions and did not give up until dictating all its demands to Israel.

“It might be interesting to you because this is not being said in the media; the heaviest bullets of the Palestinian resistance were the last bullets fired at the occupied territories, which is a sign of the power, strength and the correct definition of resistance,” Qaani said.

The Quds Force chief also paid tribute to Gen. Hejazi and Iran’s legendary commander General Qassem Soleimani, saying they were key to the unprecedented strengthening of the Palestinian resistance.

Deputy Chief of the IRGC Quds Force General Mohammad Hejazi has passed away after years of suffering from the effects of chemical weapons used during the Iraqi war of the 1980s on Iran.

“General Hejazi was one of those who, along with Haj Qassem, put a lot of energy into filling the hands of the resistance, and a token of the services rendered by Martyr Hejazi and Haj Qassem was seen in this fierce resistance of the Palestinians against the Zionist regime,” he said.

“The Eminent Leader [Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei] has said that ‘Martyr Soleimani filled the hands of the children of the resistance’ and we saw how Gaza is defending the whole land of Palestine despite having been under sanctions for 15 years.”

Gen. Qaani said, “Today, all over the world, thanks to martyrs such as Haj Qassem Soleimani and Martyr Hejazi, everyone believes that resistance is the answer in every scene.”

“As someone who has been with the children of the resistance and seen and known their spirit, I must say that gone are the days when the Zionist regime wanted to destroy the Palestinian children with weapons, bullets and guns. Today, these children are producing in the occupied territories all the vast means which they used in the 12-day war.”

According to the Quds Force chief, “many infrastructural facilities in the occupied territories were within the range of Palestinian missiles” during the recent war, but the resistance groups did not hit them, knowing it will not take long before they use those facilities.

“The 12-day war proved that the heroic Palestinians must think about governing their entire land, and the Zionist regime must now think about leaving that land,” Qaani said.

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The first reply was sent to Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh while the second one was sent to Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhala. The two political leaders have sent letters to Ayatollah Khamenei in the wake of the 12-day war on the Gaza Strip.

“I received your letter in which you wrote with detail and analysis about the recent Palestinian jihad. Your struggle is resistance against oppression, heresy and arrogance. Such a struggle pleases the Almighty, Revered God and is the proof of ‘O you who have faith! If you help Allah, He will help you and make your feet steady,’” the Leader wrote to Haniyeh, citing verse 7 of the 47th chapter of the Holy Qur’an.

The Leader added, “You will be victorious by the power of God and cleanse the holy land from the filth of the usurpers, God willing.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also sent a reply to al-Nakhala in which he praised the struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel.

“I received your brotherly letter. The great and victorious jihad of you Palestinian brothers lit up the eyes of your lovers all over the world. Our hearts are with you at the scene of your struggles and our prayers for the continuation of your victories are constant. The divine promise is true when he said: ‘Allah will surely help those who help Him’, and you will see the ultimate victory with the strength and might of God, God willing,” the Leader said, citing verse 40 of the 22nd chapter of the Holy Qur’an.

Following the end of the Israeli war on Gaza, al-Nakhala and Haniyeh sent letters of appreciation to Ayatollah Khamenei.

“Your continuous, uninterrupted, clear support in all areas has played the greatest, most considerable role in the Sayf (Sword) of al-Quds Operation and its achievements. The Resistance fighters entered the battlefield with all their strength, bravery, and valiant efforts despite the military advantage of the enemy. The resistance and victory of the Palestinian nation would not have been possible without God’s help and approval. God’s help caused the meager facilities to become powerful and made those who feared that the enemy may remove them from the earth look great and powerful in the eyes of the enemy,” al-Nakhala said in his message. “The Palestinian nation and Resistance inflicted a resounding defeat upon the enemy in a performance that pleased all the believers in the world and showed that the Zionist regime is frailer than a spider’s home.”

In his letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, Haniyeh said, “We demand immediate action in taking a decisive stance regarding these crimes and serious attempts in mobilizing Arab, Islamic and international support in order to force the Zionist enemy to stop its brutal crimes against the Palestinian nation, lands and sanctities in occupied Quds and particularly the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

He demanded that terrorist actions against Gaza and aggressive actions against Quds and the Al-Aqsa Mosque be stopped. Haniyeh also called for a cessation of Judaization policies pursued by Israel in the Palestinian territories.

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As the Israeli army continues to pound residential areas in Gaza with air raids and artillery shells, far-right Israeli extremists step up their brutal campaign of lynching Palestinian Arabs who hold Israeli citizenship, thereby shattering oft-repeated Israeli propaganda that Israel is a democracy where all minorities enjoy human rights.

Over the past few days, with the outbreak of the ongoing flare-up between Gaza and Israel, several Palestinians were killed or severely injured by far-right Israeli gangs who called for slaughtering Palestinians. One of the most heart-breaking cases of harassment against Palestinians happened near Tel Aviv when a group of Jewish zealots attacked a man they believed to be an Arab.

Footage of the incident was aired on television Wednesday night. The shocking images show a man being forcibly removed from his car and beaten by a crowd of dozens until he lost consciousness, AFP reported, adding that the attack, broadcast by public broadcaster Kan, took place on the seafront promenade of Bat Yam, south of Israel’s commercial capital Tel Aviv.

“The victim of the lynching is seriously injured but stable,” Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital said in a statement, without revealing his identity.
In addition, Israeli terrorists smashed shops owned by Palestinians in the Green Line zone, a demarcation line separating Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 and those occupied in 1967.

The Associated Press reported that a group of black-clad Israelis smashed the windows of an Arab-owned ice cream shop in Bat Yam and ultranationalists could be seen chanting, “Death to Arabs!” on live television.

This hatred against an ethnic group that is supposed to be part of the Israeli people resulted in the killing by Jewish extremists of an Arab man in Lod, a city with both Jewish and Arab residents about 15 miles south of Tel Aviv. During a funeral for this man, angry protestors clashed with security forces. The deceased man died after Jewish extremists pelted his car with stones, prompting the so-called Israeli Arabs to hit back.

Yair Revivo, the mayor of Lod, described what happened in Lod as “civil war,” calling for the Israeli army to suppress Arabs. “An intifada [uprising] erupted in Lod, you have to bring in the army,” he said. The drama also involved the use of emergency powers by Israel over an Arab community for the first time since 1966.

The Lod outburst of anger revealed deeper grievances among the Arab community, which have long been buried deep under the Israeli propaganda about co-existence, according to Arab activists in Lod.

Ghassan Munayyer, a Lod-based activist, said the veneer of coexistence conceals deeper disparities, including in housing and infrastructure, comparing its Arab neighborhoods to “refugee camps,” according to the Associated Press.

“The Jews love saying there’s coexistence. They go out to eat in an Arab restaurant and they call it coexistence,” he said. “But they don’t see Arabs as equal human beings who have rights that they have to respect.”

The outbreak of communal clashes inside Israel caused Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to warn of civil war after the decades-long, pent-up frustrations among Israeli Arabs broke out in the way of clashes with security forces.

Rivlin, who failed to denounce his regime’s excessive use of violence against Palestinians, described the rioting in several Israeli cities as “senseless civil war.”

Israeli politicians have sought to put an end to this war by assuaging concerns over domestic extremism. But the war is unlikely to end anytime soon so long as Israel cold-bloodedly kills defenseless children and women in Gaza and desecrates places of sanctity for Muslims in Jerusalem (al-Quds) especially the al-Aqsa Mosque, which stands as the first Qiblah (direction of prayer) and the third-holiest site in Islam.

As Israel continues to cry foul at the rockets coming from the beleaguered Gaza, it’s worth noting that the latest round of violence began after Israel moved to evict Palestinian families from their ancestral homes in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, something that left the Palestinians with no option but to hit back.

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The statement added, “Violent clashes around al-Aqsa Mosque and other parts of the occupied territories during the past days undeniably show the extent of Palestinians’ resistance against the merciless and brutal occupation, constant aggression and expropriation of usurped lands.”

Back on March 6, Ayatollah Sistani expressed his support for Palestinians during a historic meeting with Pope Francis in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later thanked the revered Iraqi Shia cleric for lending support to the Palestinian cause, and its liberation from Israeli occupation and aggression.

The Israeli military continued its bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip early on Wednesday, targeting several areas in the impoverished coastal enclave.

Health authorities in Gaza said at least 36 Palestinians, including 12 children, were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Strip since late on Monday.

Palestinian resistance fighters have launched hundreds of rockets into Israeli occupied territories in retaliation for the Tel Aviv regime’s bombardments of the Gaza Strip Gaza as well as its brutal crackdown on worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem al-Quds.

Tensions have escalated in Jerusalem al-Quds, the occupied West Bank and Gaza throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid the planned forced expulsions of dozens of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where illegal Israeli settlers are looking to take over the properties of Palestinian families.

The violent crackdown by Israeli forces against Palestinians in Jerusalem al-Quds have already sparked global concern that the unrest could spread further.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later had to withdraw from Gaza, but has been occupying the other territories since.

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Iran will continue to support Palestinians both in words and deeds, noted Velayati, who was foreign minister from 1981-1997.

Ali Akbar Velayati made the remarks during a Sunday.

“The issue of Palestine is still one of the [most] important and prioritized issues for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Velayati told a webinar held by the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening to mark the International Quds Day.

The veteran politician said Iran shares the same trench with its “Palestinian brethren,” not only in political and diplomatic arenas, but also in the actual field of action and [anti-Israel] resistance, Velayati said, according to Press TV.

“Iran will stand with the Palestinian nation and resistance group until liberation of the [Jerusalem] al-Quds from occupation,” the Leader’s advisor remarked.

Velayati noted that “today, and pursuant to the efforts made by Palestinian resistance groups against the Zionist regime and due to security strategies used in the ‘field’ of struggle against this regime by the resistance front, the survival of this usurping regime is faced with serious challenges from within.”

He noted that the defeats suffered by the Zionist regime in its wars against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as well as its failure in Syria clearly prove a prediction by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution that “the Zionist regime will not see the next 25 years.”

“The official announcement of normalizing relations by some Arab countries with the apartheid Zionist regime based on [former U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called] deal of the century was an act of treason to which, according to major polls, is opposed by the biggest part of the Arab and Islamic public opinion,” Velayati stated.

He added that normalization of ties with Israel is “like fire under the ashes” and will in medium and long terms will face widespread opposition by people in those countries.
“At no juncture of human history, we have witnessed such a prolonged, savage and violent process of occupation as carried out by the Zionist criminals,” the former foreign minister pointed out.

However, Velayati praised the struggle and steadfastness by the resistance Palestinian groups against the Israeli occupation, predicting these struggles will finally bear fruit and “we will witness the liberation of the occupied territories in not-so-far future.”

In a speech to mark the International Quds Day on Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Israeli regime’s serious endeavor to normalize ties with a few Arab countries, with the assistance of the U.S., is another sign of the decline of the regime.

“Since the first day, the Zionists turned the usurped Palestine into a terrorist base. Israel is not a country, rather it is a terrorist camp against the Palestinian nation and other Muslim nations,” the Leader said.

In September 2020, the United Arab Emirates was the first country to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel as part of an agreement brokered by former Donald Trump.
Bahrain also signed the accord with Israel, followed by Morocco and Sudan.

The deals sparked outrage across Muslim countries.

In defiance of global criticism, Trump also relocated the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds in December 2017, calling the holy occupied city Israel’s “capital.”

Emboldened by Trumps’ support, Israel intensified its acts of aggression against the Palestinians during the hawkish president’s time in office, pressing ahead with its much-criticized policies, including construction of new settler units on occupied Palestinian land.

Another participant in Sunday webinar was Nasser Abu Sharif, who represents the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Iran.

Addressing the audience, Abu Sharif described normalization of ties with Israel by some Arab regimes as the most dangerous issue for Muslims at the present juncture.

Shams al-Din Muhammad Sharaf al-Din, the Great Mufti of Yemen, was another participant in the webinar.

Sharaf al-Din noted that the cause of Palestine belongs to all Muslims, while slamming certain Arab regimes for normalizing ties with the Zionist regime.

The Great Mufti of Yemen also reiterated Yemeni people’s support for the Palestinian cause despite the all-out war and blockade launched against the country by the Saudi-led coalition since March 2015.

The deputy head of the Islamic Jihad movement, Mohammed Al Hindi, also addressed the webinar, saying that all Arab nations will finally revolt against those Arab rulers that have normalized relations with the Zionists.

He added that Israel is not a country, but it consists of some criminal gangs that govern the occupied territories of Palestine.

Elsewhere in the webinar, Khaled al- Qaddumi, the representative of the Palestine Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, made statements on the subject of the gathering.

Qaddumi noted that Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has lauded the Iranian government and nation for supporting the cause of Palestine.

Qaddumi slammed the Zionist regime for seeking to evict Palestinian families from their ancestral homes in Jerusalem al-Quds, including Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city, which has led to violent clashes between Palestinians and Israel forces over the past couple of days.

Qaddumi then condemned the Zionist regime for its plans to Judaize Jerusalem al-Quds and other Palestinian territories.

The Hamas representative in Iran said, “Israel has crossed all red lines by desecrating al-Aqsa mosque and killing Palestinian worshippers.

Qaddumi then called for Muslims’ decisive stance against the Zionist regime’s aggression against Palestinians across the occupied territories.

Since the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the Israeli forces and illegal settlers have been roaming the city, chanting anti-Palestinian slogans and trying to prevent Palestinians from gathering and performing their religious duties. Early in the month, the Israeli regime also shut down Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) of the al-Quds’ Old City, further enraging Palestinians.

The provocations took a still dangerous turn after the forces attacked Palestinian homes in East al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

The aggressors were trying to prompt the Palestinians to abandon their residences there. The regime had earlier issued them warnings that they had to evacuate their homes.

Secretary General of the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday deplored violent Israeli assault on Palestinian worshipers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds, saying the United Nations and international bodies must put an immediate end to crimes of the “terrorist and fake” Tel Aviv regime.

He called on the Islamic parliaments, especially the inter-Islamic and Asian parliaments, to pay special attention to the issue of Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

News sources reported on Friday night that the Zionist’s regime’s forces attacked Palestinian worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque by closing the doors of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacked Palestinian worshipers.

According to the report, more than 200 Palestinians were injured in the attack by the Zionist regime’s forces inside the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a report on Saturday, May 8, more than 205 Palestinians were wounded during a night of intense clashes at the sacred site, a serious escalation in a weeks-long rise in violence.

Tensions in Jerusalem al-Quds have soared recently, with Palestinians complaining of oppressive restrictions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. An upcoming Israeli court ruling on whether authorities can evict dozens of Palestinians – and give their homes to Jewish settlers – has further inflamed the situation.

Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, demanded on Friday that Israel halt actions that “leads to a risk of forcible transfer”, which he said, “may amount to war crimes”.

The formation of Israel was a settler-colonial conspiracy project- the biggest of its kind in history that was founded by the hegemonic global ruling system solely to serve their interest.

The reality is that the Zionists were hunters for sources of power in the world that could actualize their vision of a Jewish homeland, and wherever the imperialists place the Zionists, they will follow, says political analyst Batoul Sbeity.

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Once again Israel showed its true colors to the world: An occupying regime that is hubristically ignoring international rules by suppressing the Palestinian people in a bid to appropriate their own houses.

Israel doubled down on its restrictive measures against the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem (al-Quds) since the early days of the holy month of Ramadan when far-right extremist Jews, backed by the police, prevented Palestinians from practicing their faith in a clear violation of human rights. While Palestinians were barred from staging Ramadan public gatherings, extremist Jews freely roamed the streets of Jerusalem chanting racist slogans such as “death to Arabs,” something that enraged the Palestinians and provoked them to backlash.

Facing an increasingly violent Israeli crackdown, Palestinians peacefully staged protests against Israeli atrocities. They turned in large numbers in the al-Aqsa mosque. Some 90,000 Palestinians participated in a Ramadan prayer called Tarawih in the al-Aqsa mosque in what appeared to be a message to Israeli authorities that the Palestinians will not acquiesce in Israeli measures.

Sheikh Akrima Sabry, the imam of the mosque, warned that Israeli authorities are trying to pave the way for extremist Israelis to break into the mosque, underlining that the Palestinians will not allow such an atrocity to take place.

“We will remain in al-Quds, and we will not accept any harm to the sanctities of the Holy Mosque,” he said. The Palestinian Minister of al-Quds Affairs also condemned Israeli violence against peaceful protestors.

He pointed out that “the use of excessive force against the worshipers requires a decisive stand by the international community.”

Israel also launched a campaign of arrests among Jerusalemites, especially the freed prisoners, in a continuation of the escalation of its attacks against Palestinians. But this campaign failed to intimidate Palestinians, who now fight to protect their houses in the face of a renewed desire by Israelis to steal the houses of Palestinians. Following Sunday dawn prayer, violent confrontations erupted between worshipers and Israeli forces leading to many injuries among the citizens. Israeli officers on horseback and in riot gear fired stun grenades and water cannon against Palestinians.

Israel is planning to expel a number of Palestinian families from their ancestral homes on land claimed by illegal Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Israel’s Supreme Court is expected to decide on the fate of dozens of Palestinians who are fighting attempts by Israeli settlers to evict them from their homes in the neighborhood.

The neighbourhood has been the scene of regular confrontations, particularly during Ramadan, between Palestinian residents and their supporters on one side, and Israeli police and Jewish settlers on the other.

Israeli authorities also plan to launch marches in al-Quds to commemorate what Israelis call Jerusalem Day. Many Israelis mark the day East Jerusalem was occupied in 1967 – and later annexed by Israel – with marches throughout Jerusalem each year. About 30,000 Jewish settlers are expected to participate in a march towards Damascus Gate in the Old City on Monday, according to Al Jazeera.

This march is expected to further inflame tensions in Jerusalem as it can provoke pushback by Palestinians who are fed up with Israel’s racist policies. Amos Gilad, a former senior military official, told Army Radio the parade should be canceled or rerouted away from the Old City’s Damascus Gate, saying “the powder keg is burning and can explode at any time,” according to Al Jazeera.
In light of these developments, Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, sent a letter to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei appreciating Iran’s support for Palestine and demanding a unified Muslim stance against Israeli atrocities in Palestine.

On Friday, the Leader delivered a speech on Palestine and condemned Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

“The issue of Palestine continues to be the most important and active issue for the Islamic Ummah collectively. The policies of the oppressive and cruel capitalism have driven a people out of their homes, their homeland and their ancestral roots, and instead, it has installed a terrorist regime and has housed a foreign people therein,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Meanwhile, Israeli is holding its largest-ever military drills simulating an all-out war on all fronts. Israeli media reported that the Israeli army has begun to conduct the largest military exercises in its history, which simulates a month of all-out war on all fronts from north to south.

Aviv Kochavi, chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, decided not to delay or postpone these drills due to tensions in Jerusalem.

Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, pointed to these drills in his latest speech, which was delivered on the occasion of International Quds Day.

“Special sources,” told Lebanese El-Nashra news website that these drills are very dangerous because they simulate “a major war imposed on Israel on the southern and northern borders of Palestine with the Sinai front and the home front, in addition to Israel being exposed to a huge number of rockets being fired by the resistance forces.”

These sources also warned that these drills may indicate an Israeli desire to wage a war. “Hezbollah warned against these drills because Israel worked during past wars to take soldiers and personnel from the training camps directly to the field, and this is what is happening now at the southern front of Lebanon and the north of Palestine,” the sources said.

They also said that Hezbollah has put its troops on the highest alert level since 2006 out of concern that Israel may wage war. Independent analysts also warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, facing internal security and political chaos, could resort to war to deflect attention away from his mismanagement. “It’s not unlikely that the defeated, isolated Netanyahu, who may spend his last years behind bars, will make the biggest mistake of his life and go to a big or small war,” wrote Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of Raialyoum, in a recent editorial.

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Over 100,000 Palestinians had convened in Al-Aqsa this morning to perform the prayers of the Eid.

There is a clash going on between the Israeli forces and Palestinians outside of the mosque.

While people around the world traditionally head to markets several days before the Eid to buy gifts, sweets and new clothes for their families, the impoverished people in Gaza have been marking Eid al-Adha under harsh conditions imposed by the Israeli regime since 2007.

Around two million Palestinians in Gaza are marking another Eid al-Adha holiday this year under difficult conditions due to the Israeli blockade. Like previous years, the festivity is once again marred by rampant poverty and unemployment.

The religious occasion comes at the end of the Hajj Pilgrimage that takes place in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

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The International Quds Day is an annual event during which demonstrators express their solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the Zionist regime of Israel.

The day is seen as the legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, who officially declared the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan as International Quds Day back in 1979.

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