TEHRAN – Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has spoken over the phone with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PJI) secretary general Ziyad al-Nakhalah.

In the conversation, Qalibaf congratulated the Palestinian leader on the recent victory achieved by the Palestinian Islamic resistance against Israel. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran stands by the Palestinian nation and the Palestinian Islamic resistance under all circumstances and with all its might,” Qalibaf told al-Nakhalah, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. 

Expressing regret over the martyrdom of the commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in the recent battle with Israel, Qalibaf said, “The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is one of the most effective resistance movements of the Palestinian people against the occupying regime of Jerusalem, which plays an important role in confronting this regime.”

The speaker of the Iranian parliament emphasized the comprehensive support of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Palestinian people in order to achieve their rights for freedom of the occupied territories.

Al-Nakhalah, for his part, expressed appreciation for the continuous support of the Iranian Parliament and speaker Qalibaf to the struggles of the Palestinian people.

“In the recent battle with the Islamic Jihad movement, the Zionist regime was forced to request a ceasefire and accept the conditions of the Islamic Jihad,” he told Qalibaf. 
Al-Nakhalah considered the great achievement of the recent battle to be the unity of the resistance groups inside and outside Palestine against the occupying regime.
“In the recent battle, the Islamic Jihad of Palestine showed that it can stand up to the occupying regime in a big and long-term war and inflict strong blows on them,” he said. 

The Palestinian leader added, “Resistance missiles hit this occupying regime deep in the occupied territories.”

During its recent three-day aggression against the Gaza Strip, Israel killed more than 40 Palestinian civilians, including 16 children. After three days of unprovoked aggression against the Gaza Strip, Israel accepted an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that put an end to its bombing of civilian homes.

The recent flare-up began when Israel started aggression against Gaza with the purpose of eliminating the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine.
The movement agreed to the ceasefire. It underlined in a statement its right to respond to any Israeli aggression.

Speaking at a press conference held after the announcement of the ceasefire, al-Nakhalah said Israel failed to achieve the goals it set for its recent aggression which is to eliminate the leaders of the resistance movement.

“The Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip scored an achievement, led by the Islamic Jihad movement… the enemy raised a specific slogan, which is the liquidation of the Islamic Jihad movement and its military arm, but the movement today is stronger than ever,” he said, adding that the resistance movement had the upper hand during the flare-up evidenced by its ability to shower Israeli targets with missiles. 

Al-Nakhalah has recently sent a letter to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. 

In his letter, al-Nakhalah confirmed the widespread presence of Palestinian Resistance fighters, particularly from the Islamic Jihad and the military branch of Saraya al-Quds, in all of Palestine, especially in Gaza and the West Bank, according to khamenei.ir. He said, “Due to the presence of the troops of Jihad Resistance, not a single day passes without clashes taking place with the Zionist regime in the West Bank.”

In describing the situation that exists in Gaza, the Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad Movement spoke of the strong Resistance in this region that is confronting the occupying regime. Furthermore, with regards to the three days of clashes, he said, “We have called these clashes Wahdat al-Sahat (Unity of the Fields) to emphasize the unity that exists in our nation when they are confronting the enemy, which is working with all its strength and which schemes to try to abolish this unity.”
The Leader responded to the letter of al-Nakhalah. In his reply, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that he considered the Islamic Jihad’s courageous resistance to be the reason for both the elevation of the movement's position and their ability to nullify the Zionist regime’s deception while crushing them.

“I received your honorable, promising letter with its good news. May God reward you and hurry the ultimate victory of the admirable and oppressed Palestinian nation. The recent event has added to the honors of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and elevated the status of Islamic Jihad in the magnificent Resistance movement of the Palestinian nation. With your courageous Resistance, you have nullified the policy of deception of the usurping regime,” the Leader said, according to khamenei.ir. 

Ayatollah Khamenei added, “You have proven that each section of the Resistance is able to crush the enemy. By connecting the fight in Gaza with the West Bank and other forces of the Resistance with their support for the Jihad movement, you have been able to demonstrate the solidarity of the Palestinian nation’s jihad to the malicious, deceptive enemy. All of the efforts of the Palestinian groups in all of the Palestinian lands should be directed at protecting this solidarity.”

He stated, “The usurping enemy is becoming weaker, while Palestinian Resistance is becoming stronger. There is no power or strength except from God. We continue to stand with you. May God’s greetings be upon you, and our agreements are still in place…”