In this piece, I want to address the messages and implications of the Bab al-Amoud uprising and some of the developments in Palestine.

Al-Quds (Jerusalem) once again showed that it is the center of conflict which sparks the flames of resistance to occupation.

 This conflict per se reveals resistance identity and ideology as well as its humanistic features.

The braves youth of al-Quds made us feel proud again. The Palestinian youth taught a harsh lesson to the occupying soldiers who use to arrest children and girls.

Yes, it is a matter of political crisis the Zionist regime is facing.

Israel held a national election for the fourth time in two years, hoping to break a seemingly endless cycle of elections and a political deadlock that has left the country without a national budget during a pandemic.

To that end, Netanyahu insults the Palestinians and is going to sue the far-right Zionists in his cabinet as a signal that he will support their efforts to attack Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On this basis, he spares no effort to disrupt the prayers of the Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli occupying regime also supports extremist settlers from terrorist movements such as Lehava, another version of the Kach extremist movement, believing in the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

But the Zionists faced fearless heroes who prevented them from entering the Mosque. The Palestinian youth prevented the Zionist settlers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque and succeeded in reopening Bab al-Amoud and protecting Al-Aqsa Mosque after entering the Mosque.

Apart from their deep belief in the justice of their cause and divine help, another reason for the success of the brave Palestinian youth was the help of their brothers in the occupied territories, who are called the 1948 Palestinians. (Seventy years ago, during the 1948 war, the Zionists occupied 77 percent of Palestine, destroyed at least 413 Palestinian villages and towns displaced around 800,000 Palestinians such that only 156,000 remained in the 1948 occupied territories.)

Meanwhile, the resistance forces in Gaza also fired rockets at the criminal Zionists, forcing them to run down into shelters.

Al-Quds has always been an inspiring source for the resistance and inspiration to the revolutionaries and fighters in the historic land of Palestine.

Imam Khomeini realized the importance of Quds even before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. On this basis, this cause became the compass for the resistance movement and those of his later followers.

Realizing the importance of Holy Quds, Imam Khomeini declared the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan each year as Quds Day, in which Muslims worldwide would unite in solidarity against Israel and support of the Palestinians.

We have always emphasized and reiterated that the cause of Quds is honorable and humiliating at the same time. This means that whoever accompanies and supports al-Quds will be honored and exalted, and whoever is in the line of al-Quds enemies will face embarrassment.

In a report published A few days ago, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of pursuing policies of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians.

The report drew on years of human rights documentation, analysis of Israeli laws, a review of government planning documents and statements by officials.

 Although the Zionist regime is described as racist, a White House spokesman dismissed the report, which is further evidence of the continuation of the U.S. policy in favor of the Zionist regime.

To summarize the implications and direct messages of the recent developments in Jerusalem, we must mention the followings:

1) The Zionist enemy continues its racist and terrorist policies and methods. Despite the power shift in the United States, the occupier regime has not changed its behavior and has intensified terror acts and violence in Palestine and even in the region.

The new U.S. administration did not reverse any of the Trump administration's measures in West Asia; neither renounced the recognition of Jerusalem as the unified capital of the Zionist regime nor returned its embassy to Tel Aviv.

The new administration in the U.S. did not correct any of the wrongdoings of the previous administration and called the brave Palestinian youth in Jerusalem extremists. This is the real face of America with a constant bias towards the Zionist regime neglecting Palestinians demands and rights.

2) The current political crisis of the Zionist regime has been reflected in the behavior of the leaders of this regime.

To escape their domestic crisis, the Zionist authorities stir up the feelings of the extremists, and we saw that the extremist Jews living in the ancient city of Jerusalem were rudely expressing their views about the Palestinians in the media, saying, "Their villages must be set on fire." "And death to the Arabs."

But moderate Jews have also commented, saying, "You Palestinians should leave here, and we should settle down."

These cases clearly show the way of thinking and the aggressive nature of the Zionists, 

That is contrary to the opinion of the Arab states that have normalized their relations with this regime, believing in a two-state solution and peaceful coexistence.

I do not know what kind of coexistence they are talking about; what kind of peaceful coexistence can be had with these instinctive criminals. They want to kill and burn the Palestinians so that they can settle down in the occupied territories.

In short, today, we are facing a very violent and wild Zionist society whose leaders are provoking extremist emotions. Perhaps this is the best sign and a direct and practical referendum on the type of solution because, according to the Zionists, this conflict cannot be resolved except on the lifeless body of the other side.

3) Based on what has been said, it is evident that we are facing the continuation of the Zionist-American aggression on the Palestinians, and the appropriate response is that we stick more and more to the rights of the heroic nation of Palestine.

That is why the brave people of Jerusalem rose to show their commitment and courage.

Now, given that we are preparing for the Palestinian elections, the brave Palestinian youth of Jerusalem insist on their inalienable right and declared that, like all Palestinians, they are no exception to these elections and will not allow the Zionist enemy to meddle in this regard.

4) History and our experience have shown that our unity as Palestinians was the only way to thwart all Zionist-American conspiracies against Palestine, as we saw how our unity frustrates Trump's plan for the so-called Deal of the Century.

So we have no choice but to stick to this unity; otherwise, our destiny and future will be doomed to failure.

5) The final point is that the waves of this uprising are spreading to the West Bank, Gaza, and northern Palestine, especially the 28th of the holy Ramadan, the day after the Laylat al-Qadr (nights of destiny), will be a challenging day.

In the Hebrew calendar, this night coincides with the day of the gathering of Jewish extremists to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque by force.

As for the elections, I have to say that this is a Palestinian issue and must be managed collectively, and it should not be determined by one party or one person.

Hence, what the people of Jerusalem did was a direct referendum and a strong emphasis on the inalienable right to express their Palestinian identity, and no one can deprive them of this right. At the same time, there is no reason to postpone this election.

In this regard, we have informed the Arab-regional players and international parties about the way of voting in Jerusalem and updated them on the experienced proposals.

We must not allow the Zionist regime to interfere in our affairs, and it is the Palestinians who choose their own destiny. 

There is no room to decide unilaterally. We should not pave the way for a power vacuum with these delays, especially if we agree that the source of legitimacy of each party, organization or leader, is people. Therefore, we do not need to create a power vacuum, which will disrupt national development and, consequently, prolong the crisis at the national level.

Given what has been said, the international community today has a responsibility to help the Palestinian people continue the experience of democracy. It should also end the expansionist Zionist occupation and crimes against the Palestinian people and its sanctuaries because Al-Aqsa Mosque belongs to the Muslim world, and even UNESCO itself has approved that this Mosque has no connection with the Jews. 

In our view, Jerusalem means Nablus, Gaza, and Nazareth, and in other words, the whole of Palestine is a single and indivisible body. It is the inalienable right of all Palestinian citizens to decide their destiny, and no one else has the right to determine this destiny.

Khaled al-Qaddoumi is the Hamas representative in Tehran. He wrote this article for the Tehran Times.