TEHRAN – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, likened the victory of the Palestinian resistance movement against Israel in the 22-day war to a “miracle”.

“What really happened in Gaza was truly like a miracle,” the Leader noted in a meeting with visiting Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ramadan Abdallah.
“The Gaza events were in fact at the hands of God which came true through the faith and firm determination and the jihad of resistance forces and the Gaza people,” the Leader noted.
The Supreme Leader again congratulated Palestinians on their victory over the Zionist regime’s army and praised the resistance movement’s leaders for their “decisive and united” position.
“Truly, the people of Gaza took a good test and the officials and managers also emerged successful in this test for their good performance and decisive and united position.”
Ayatollah Khamenei also said the effect of the world public opinion was very influential in the Gaza event.
One of the main successes of the resistance movement was that it attracted the support of the world public opinion and through this it torpedoed efforts by Israel to depict Palestinians as troublemakers, the Leader explained.
The Leader advised Palestinians to remain in constant contact with the world public opinion and called on Palestinian officials to counter efforts by Israel and its supporters who are trying to depict resistance movement as responsible for the sufferings of the Gaza residents.
“After the end of the Gaza war the enemy is trying to introduce Islamic resistance as responsible for the sufferings and pains of people through psychological and propaganda war… which should be confronted with.”
The Leader went on to say that the Zionist regime’s collapse has already begun.
He said the United States and certain European countries created the Zionist regime in the region in order to dominate the Middle East but now after 60 years they have been forced to send warships to the regime’s coast in the Mediterranean Sea to “protect” it.
Ayatollah Khamenei reminded Palestinian resistance leaders that as in the battleground the Palestinians must insist on their political position to “force the enemy to retreat”.
The Leader expressed hope for a complete liberation of Palestinian lands and said he “strongly believes that the final victory will come in not too distant future” if the resistance continues at this pace.
For his part, Ramadan Abdallah thanked Iran for its help to Palestinians especially during the recent Israeli war on Gaza.
The Palestinian resistance leader said Israel failed to achieve any of its goals in Gaza despite all experiences that it had gained in the 33-day war against Hezbollah in 2006.
In the war Israel only killed women and children, he explained.
The Gaza war proved that “the time has passed that Israel could defeat Arab armies in six days,” remarked Abdallah in a reference to the defeat of Syrian, Jordanian and Egyptian armies in the six-day war in 1967.
He said the victory over the Zionist regime’s army which is equipped with modern weaponry was a “great strategic development” and promised “final victory” by Palestinians.
He said Palestinians would also disappoint Israel at the “political scene” through unity and insistence on their position.