TEHRAN – The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, has underlined the need for helping resistance elements inside Palestine in a strategy that is aimed at accelerating the decline of Israel and emancipating the Palestinians. 

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with a group of Iranian officials and ambassadors of Islamic countries on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. 

In the meeting, the Leader dedicated much of his speech to the issue of Palestine, saying that Israel is in a state of decline and has lost its power of deterrence.

He considered the issue of Palestine as one of the most fundamental issues of the Islamic world and pointed to the gradual decline of the usurping Zionist regime. “This decline, which began a few years ago, has accelerated now and the Islamic world must take advantage of this great opportunity,” he said, according to khamenei.ir. 

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out that the issue of Palestine not only Islamic, but also a humanitarian issue. Referring to the Quds Day gatherings and marches in non-Islamic countries, he said, “Anti-Zionist gatherings in the U.S. and European countries on Quds Day is the result of the increasing revelation of the crimes of the usurping Zionists.”

He added that the presence of a number of Europeans in support of the Palestinian people is very important, especially in countries that are dependent on the Zionists.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution regarded the internal resistance of the Palestinian people and the risk-taking, sacrificing nature of its youth as the main causes of the miserable situation that exists in the Zionist regime. “Today’s situation in the occupied territories proves that the more the Palestinians stand up and resist in different regions, the weaker the fake regime will become,” he emphasized.

Ayatollah Khamenei also underlined that the deterrent power of the Zionist regime is coming to an end. “Several decades ago, [David] Ben-Gurion, one of the founders of the fake regime, said ‘We will be destroyed whenever our deterrent power ends.’ The world is currently witnessing this reality and if nothing happens, the end of the usurping regime is close. This too is one of the blessings that has risen from the sacrifices of the devoted Palestinian youth in the West Bank and other occupied areas.”

With regard to these realities, the Leader considered helping the forces inside Palestine as an essential strategy of today’s Islamic world. “In line with their valuable efforts, the Resistance Front and all Islamic countries should focus on strengthening the fighting elements inside Palestine,” he stated.

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to belief in Islam as the main reason Palestinian groups have gained strength and said these developments did not exist when there was no belief in an inclination toward the divine religion.

He called the enemies’ animosity toward Islam the result of understanding the power of Islam in strengthening the Palestinian nation and other nations, adding, “Of course, by the grace of God and the vigilance of Muslim nations, this strategy will lead nowhere.”

The late Imam Khomeini and the Islamic Republic were the forerunners in supporting the Palestinian cause, he said. “This movement will continue and we hope that the dear people of Iran would witness a day when Muslims of all Islamic countries pray freely in the Holy Quds.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also called on the officials of Islamic countries to use the spirituality of the holy month of Ramadan to establish unity within the Islamic nation and reduce and resolve the differences.

“If the Quranic commandment of ‘unity around the divine rope’ is followed, the Islamic world, with a population of about two billion and having the most important and sensitive geographical regions in the world, can take a step toward resolving the problems,” he said,

By Faramarz Kuhpayeh