Leader: All Muslims are duty-bound to support Palestinian Resistance

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says all Muslim countries have a responsibility to support Palestinian resistance, which should be a source of unity in the Islamic world.

The Leader made the remarks in his opening speech to the 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada (Uprising) in Tehran on Tuesday.

He said: “Despite the differences that exist among Muslim states — some of these differences are natural, some originate from the enemy’s plot and the rest are because of negligence — the issue of Palestine can, and should be the pivot of unity for all Muslim states.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said the top priority of the Islamic world and all those fighting for freedom across the world is the Palestinian cause and unity to support that cause.

“One of the achievements of this valuable conference is announcing the first priority of the world of Islam and freedom fighters all over the world, which is the issue of Palestine and the creation of an atmosphere of harmony and unanimity with the purpose of achieving the lofty goal of supporting the people of Palestine and their truthful and justice-oriented fight,” he stated.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the Third Intifada, while being subject to more severe suppression by the Zionist regime than the previous two, will “begin a very important chapter” in the history of resistance.

He added: “The Intifada that has begun for the third time in the (Zionist) usurped land... is still moving forward in a bright and hopeful manner. And by Allah’s permission, we will see that this Intifada will begin a very important chapter in the history of fighting and that it will inflict another defeat on that usurper (Zionist) entity.”

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the phased development of the Zionist occupation and said the cure for the disaster should also come in stages.

“From the beginning”, he noted, “this cancerous tumor has been developing in several phases until it turned into the current disaster; the cure for this tumor should be developed in phases as well. Until today, several Intifadas and a constant and continuous resistance have managed to achieve very important phased goals. The Palestinian Intifada continues to gallop forward in a thunderous manner so that it can achieve its other goals until the complete liberation of Palestine.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized that as long as the name and memory of Palestine and the Resistance are preserved, it will be impossible for the illegal Zionist entity to strengthen its foundations.

He also said: “The Resistance’s success has resulted in starting a war of attrition against the enemy. In other words, it has managed to defeat the main plot of the Zionist regime, namely dominating the whole region.”

The Leader cautioned that “the dangers of existence of the illegal Zionist entity should never be ignored, neither should the needs of resistance in the West Bank, because the West Bank shoulders the main burden of the Intifada. Supporting the Resistance is the responsibility of all of us. No one has the right to have special expectations in return for assistance.”

Around 700 foreign guests and representatives of Palestinian organisations and other freedom movement are taking part in the Tehran Conference. Before Ayatollah Khamenei officially inaugurated the conference with his speech, Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani, who is the Chairman of the Conference, gave a brief opening address.

EA/AS/SS