TEHRAN — In an interview with the khamenei.ir website published on Saturday, Major General Hossein Salami, the IRGC commander-in-chief, says the Palestinians have long found out that Iran is their real friend.

On response of the letter of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to Ziyad Nakhalah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) chief, Hossein Salami said, “Palestinians have found out who their real friends are. True friends are those who stand by their side in difficult situations. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that we are with you until the end. For Palestine, this is a pillar they can rely on and a huge source of power. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution is in control of the realities because of the very unique experiences he has in these difficult fields.”

He then said that the Leader has a deep view of events and consequences and the behind-the-scenes of these events, that is, in terms of the depth of reflections and echoes of an issue and its effects. 

“If you pay attention to the message, it is full of hope and belief in God's blessings for the Palestinians. It is full of advice for unity and empathy among all Palestinian movements, and an unbreakable hope for the future. This light of hope sprouts in the hearts of Palestinians and prepares them for a better future,” he added.

Salami described the message as “very gratifying and moving,” saying it was a “conceptual, epic and important religious message, to extend to a divine movement and spread the spirit of resistance.”

Palestinian movements have matured through continuity

Elsewhere in the interview, Salami said that with the passage of time, the Palestinian movements have become considerably mature and continued resilience. 

“Building such a power in such a geographical space is really one of the miracles of the Palestinian resistance.” 

“The struggle is changing from an intermittent to a continuous movement, this is the first characteristic. In the past, you witnessed conflicts and battles with long time intervals, and you did not see that continuity in today's struggle. For example, every few years, conflicts were in limited places, at limited times, with limited intensities and limited goals. Over time, the dimensions of the struggle grew, and the Palestinian talent for continuous struggle flourished,” he noted.

The IRGC chief went on to say that since the beginning of Ramadan the flames of resistance that were kindled in the occupied territories have never been extinguished.

“You constantly observe that these struggles continue in all Palestinian territories. From the beginning of April until now, many Zionists have been killed in the operations of the resistance groups inside the occupied territories, which cannot be compared to last year - except for the Sword of Quds operation.” 

Continuation of Jihad is very important, Salami said, noting that the continuity is important due to the fact that the persistence of resistance strengthens the structure and spirit of resistance and develops technical tools, weapons, equipment, techniques, tactics and training. 

“Therefore, the Palestinians face an unstoppable path of qualitative growth in the struggle,” the IRGC commander-in-chief said. 
Salami then moved on to the next point, which is variety and broadness of the struggle in the occupied territories. 

Now it is not only Gaza which is involved in the field of resistance and struggle, but this struggle has also been transferred to the West Bank, he pointed out.
 
“You hear the names of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Sheikh Jarrah, etc. a lot. These are the main cities of the West Bank. There is no geographical connection between the West Bank and Gaza, they are like two separate islands, surrounded by the Zionist regime, and there, too, there are concrete walls with a height of, for example, six meters, with wide thicknesses and extremely modern and advanced electronic and optical sensors. They even control the vibrations inside the ground to discover if a tunnel is dug somewhere. All advanced and modern tools from drones and night vision cameras to vibration meters which have been used in the small geographical environment of the occupied Palestine, so that there is no connection from the outside environment with the environment inside occupied Palestine,” he explained. 

Despite all these limitations, Salami pointed out, hundreds of rockets and missiles are now fired by resistance groups for a small operation. 

“It is very difficult to understand the meaning of how the Palestinian struggle managed to equip itself with a large number of rockets despite all these seemingly impenetrable security fences,” the IRGC chief underlined.

Palestinians have gained the ability to generate power from inside

Elsewhere in the interview, Salami referred to the difference between the “stone intifada” and today’s intifada, saying, “The Palestinians fought with stones, which they called the Intifada. What was the meaning of that intifada? The stone revolution. They fought with stone. How did the Palestinians gain today's power under the siege and under very complex and extensive security measures? Those who are familiar with the security arrangements of the Zionist regime to control the borders know that the Zionist regime in its own security logic, has made the borders impenetrable. Yet, despite this isolation and extremely complicated siege, weapons are manufactured and distributed in the occupied Palestine. This power sprouted in the Palestinian territories. That is, this power is not transmitted from outside, they have gained the ability to generate power from within. Building such a power in such a geographical space is really one of the miracles of the Palestinian resistance. This power does not fade once it becomes an inside strength.” 

He then went on to exemplify the escape of six Palestinian prisoners from the Israeli regime’s prisons in 2021, which caused a huge embarrassment for the regime. “Last year, you saw the escape of six Palestinians from the prison of the Zionist regime, who I think were mainly from the brothers of (the Palestinian) Islamic Jihad. Being able to break out of the prisons of the Zionist regime and escaping from these prisons means challenging all the security measures of the Zionist regime. It is true that these people were arrested later, but the very process of escaping from that prison under those conditions shows that the Palestinians can do whatever they want.”

Dividing Hamas and Islamic Jihad was a Zionist conspiracy

On a claim by the Israelis that they have successfully created a division between Hamas and the PIJ, Salami said that this was a “Zionist conspiracy.” 

“The strategy was for the Zionists to act selectively against one group this time. That is, to target one group alone and announce that we have nothing to do with the rest of the resistance movements so that they stop too, and then when they are done with one group, they go to the next movement. This means dividing Palestine into separate resistance units so that the resistance cannot act in a united front,” the IRGC chief explained.

He then noted that the initiative that the PIJ took was that it called this operation the “Unity of the Fields,” which means everyone was the same. 

“The reason why only the Islamic Jihad fought this round of wars was because the dimensions of that battle were such that it did not require to involve resistance units other than itself,” he stated.

According to the IRGC top commander, the PIJ was in the field and the rest of the resistance movements provided spiritual support. 

“If the battle were to develop, all the Palestinian factions would certainly enter the field, but since the Islamic Jihad was able to win this struggle alone, there was no need for others to enter. It was very important that Israel was defeated this time by a group inside Palestine. Hamas and other Palestinian groups, as well as the people were ready, but the battle in this area ended with the Islamic Jihad’s tactics and operations,” he added. 

Salami said he was of the opinion that the resistance’s strategy was to “suffocate” the Zionist regime with its own strategy.

“This means to prove to them that they don't even have the ability to continue fighting against a resistance group. If the Israelis could, they would have continued this battle.

A person who feels superior does not end the war at the height of his superiority and does not look for a mediator. All the Palestinians were ready to enter the battle, but their plan was not to expand the level of conflict. The strategy that won was the strategy of the Palestinians to force the enemy to accept the conditions in a short time in a limited battle. What achievement can the Zionist regime claim now? The Zionist policy failed. The regime's inability to create divisions in Palestine was a failure,” he underscored. 

I discussed disturbance within the Zionist regime with Nakhalah

In another part of the interview, Salami said in his discussion with Nakhalah, he analyzed the power of the Zionists and the decline of their power in comparison to the past. 

“A disturbance in the regime has been created. These dear friends (Nakhalah and PIJ members) have reached the same conclusion. That is why they stood firm in this war. This issue was very prominent in the minds of our friends. It is a strong belief that Israel is on the decline and the decline of its power has accelerated over time,” he noted.

In conclusion, Salami said that the Palestinians believe that they can become the owners of their land in the near future.