TEHRAN- Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran for Political Affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, rejected the idea of two governments to solve the Palestinian issue and called the referendum “the only solution” to the Palestinian issue.

Bagheri, who arrived in Bangkok after visiting the Philippines on the first leg of his Asian tour, took part in a press briefing attended by journalists from several main Thai media outlets at the Iranian embassy building in Bangkok early Thursday.

On a final solution to the issue of Palestine, the Iranian diplomat said, “Holding a referendum among all Palestinian people, including the current residents of the occupied territories and other Palestinians living elsewhere across the globe in order to determine their destiny and work out their desired system of government is the solution which is democratic and complies with international criteria. More importantly, it would be a lasting solution.”

“Why don’t the so-called advocates of human rights and democracy accept this solution and why do they allow themselves to violate the rights of a great and well-established nation?” he asked.

In response to the question of why the Hamas movement attacked Israel on October 07, the deputy Iranian foreign minister said, “The Gaza issue did not start on October 07; rather, this issue began 7 decades ago and has its roots in the Zionists’ occupation for the past more than 70 years; the October 07 [attack] was a reaction to 7 decades of Zionists’ occupation.”  

He stressed that people all across the world can go to the polls and cast their votes to exercise their rights, but Palestinians, as the main owners of the land of Palestine, should fight Israeli warplanes and tanks in order to secure their most basic rights, which is to own an independent territory. 

“The Zionists have tightened the noose on Palestinian people so much that they have left Palestinians with no option but to put up an armed fight to secure their rights. So, resistance is Palestinian people’s inherent, legitimate, and undeniable right, and no authority can deprive them of this inalienable right,” said the deputy Iranian foreign minister.

The deputy Iranian foreign minister elaborated on the dynamism of resistance in Palestine, saying, “Resistance is Palestinian people’s inalienable right which no one has granted them and no authority will be able to deprive them of this permanent right.”

Bagheri noted that women and children in Gaza are heroes and victors during 45 days of strikes by the Zionists, adding, “The Zionist regime’s targets in Gaza are not garrisons, tanks and armored vehicles; rather, the occupying Zionists’ targets, in addition to homes, include mosques, churches, schools, offices of international organizations and hospitals. In other words, over the past 45 days, the Zionists have failed to prove that they have targeted even one military center or military equipment in Gaza where it is only Palestinian people that are standing up to the occupiers.”