Panelists discuss Day of Quds significance

Three pro-Palestinian figures discussed the international solidarity day of Quds and the current Palestinian intifada in Tehran in a panel debate that was co-organized by the Qods News Agency (Qodsna) and the Society in Defense of the Palestinian Nation (SDPN).

Excerpts of their speeches follow.

Day of Quds point to divine side of Imam Khomeini’s revolution

Head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s department of Middle East and North Africa, Hamidreza Dehqani said the international solidarity day of Quds that was designated by the late father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini, serves as a divine parameter for his Islamic Revolution.

The senior diplomat said Imam Khomeini based his revolution on the resolve of the masses and the designation also followed the same attitude.

“Imam devised the move as a global one rather than as a mere Islamic or Arab one,” he said, adding the designation has been of much help for promoting public awareness in the world.

“Day of Quds is a day of unity between Muslims and the rest of the world people against arrogance and bully,” Dehqani said, adding the solidarity occasion would remain alive as a top policy agenda for Iran as long as the Islamic Revolution is alive in the region.

The senior diplomat expressed regret that despite the efforts by certain Arab states in the region to forge secret and open cooperation with the Zionist regime, the Palestinian issue will remain as an absolute priority for the Muslim community.

Iran considers Palestinian issue as a religious undertaking

Head of the intifada and Quds campaign in the Iranian Islamic Publicity Organization, Ramezan Sharif said the late Imam Khomeini’s initiative in designating the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan as solidarity Day of Quds challenged the Israeli strategy of removing the Palestinian issue from the international agenda.

“Day of Quds helps review the occupation of Palestine and the ordeal of the Palestinian nation every year,” he said.

The senior pro-Palestinian figure said Iran has never pursued the Palestinian issue for material interests rather it has considered the issue as a religious undertaking.

Sharif noted that before the ISIS terrorism is unleashed in the region, the liberation of Palestinian was going to be turned into a mainstream concern for the Muslim community however the terror groups created an additional margin of safety for Israel.

The Iranian figure added however that the current anti-occupation intifada in Palestine helped keep the Palestinian issue aloof.

Arabs have abandoned Palestine

Representative of the Islamic Jihad movement, Naser Abu Sharif said the temporal and special division of the al-Aqsa mosque is not a final Israeli project against the occupied al-Quds, adding the Zionist regime seeks to get dominance over the entire occupied city.

The Palestinian personality said Arab brokers were helping Israel in its expansionist policies, adding the occupied al-Quds was facing a dangerous situation.

Abu SAharif denounced the so-called “Arab initiative” for Palestine as a project actually aimed at removing the Palestinian issue, adding the Palestinian Authority is the largest obstacle ahead of the Palestinian struggle.

“Zionists would never allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” he said.

The Palestinian figure also acknowledged that the Islamic Republic has been targeted by the western governments due to its support to the Palestinian issue.