Muslims must fully counter Zionist enemy: Iran official

A senior adviser to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, says Muslim nations should put up an all-out fight against the Zionist enemy and prevent any discord.

Addressing the closing ceremony of an international conference in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Monday, Ali Akbar Velayati said enemies of Muslim nations are hatching plots to push the issue of Palestine and violated rights of Palestinians into oblivion.

Not only the Palestinians, but all Muslims are duty-bound to make every effort to liberate the holy al-Aqsa Mosque and protect its sanctity, he added.

The Iranian official emphasized that all Muslims should fully tap into their potential and draw up a strategic and overarching plan in a bid to liberate the mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

He pointed to an international plot that led to the occupation of the Palestinian land by the Zionists and said, “It is very obvious that the restoration of peace and stability to this strategic region will not be possible but through putting an end to the occupation and the liberation of all occupied Palestinian territories.”

Velayati emphasized that the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland is an “unchangeable” demand by all Palestinians.

All international treaties have recognized the legal rights of Palestinians to liberate their land and return to their homes, he pointed out.

He called on Palestinian groups to remain vigilant to defend the “Islamic and humanitarian” right of the Palestinian people and refrain from getting involved in minor differences.

“The Muslim world expects different Palestinian groups to solve their differences and create unity to realize the Palestinian people’s cause,” Velayati said.

He pointed to the Israeli regime’s anti-human measures to deprive the Palestinian people of their rights and continue the blockade of the Gaza Strip, expressing regret that Muslims have so far failed to fulfill their responsibility in that regard.

Velayati called on Muslim nations to reinforce their unity more than ever before.

Israel has tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds over the past decades by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.

Over half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem al-Quds in 1967.

Much of the international community regards the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were occupied by Israel in 1967, and they are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.