TEHRAN – Millions of Muslims around the world on Friday took part in the annual International Qods Day rallies to protest the continued occupation of Palestinian lands including Beit-ul-Muqaddas.

A massive rally was held in Tehran and all other cities across Iran to declare solidarity with the Palestinians, many chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.
Most Iranian officials including Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Majlis speaker Ali Larijani, Judiciary Chief Mahmoud Shahroudi, parliamentarians, and former officials including foreign ministers Kamal Kharrazi and Ali Akbar Velayati participated in the rallies.
Former president Mohammad Khatami who attended the rallies in Tehran said he is ‘sorry’ that certain powerful countries endorse even support the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel.
“The Palestine issue is a sign of immorality in our time,” Khatami told reporters.
Demonstrators carried placards which read, “Israel will be destroyed, Palestine is victorious”, and “Holy war until victory”.
Qods is sacred to Muslims because it is where Prophet Muhammad began his journey to heaven.
A mother of six, Zahra Hedayat, 47, told AFP that “it is important to support Palestinians to show the world that Israel is oppressive, and, God willing, one day Muslims will get Palestine back.”
Qods Day was proposed by the late Imam Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, who called on the world’s Muslims to show solidarity with Palestinians on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has marked the Qods Day, in a bid to express support for the Palestinians and to emphasize the importance of Qods to Muslims.
In Gaza, thousands of Palestinians also marched in the streets in honor of the Qods Day.
Protestors waved the green and black flags of Palestine and carried signs reading “On International Al-Qods Day I am at your service, Beit-ul-Muqaddas.”
Demonstrations were also held in Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.
In Iraq, thousands of people staged massive demonstrations in key cities, including Baghdad and Basra.
In Indonesia, Muslim women rallied outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta to mark the Qods Day.
The demonstration was held under an official slogan: “The Islamic world will not recognize the fake Zionist regime under any circumstances and believes that this cancerous tumor will one day be wiped off the face of the earth.”