Iran marks Nakba Day, calls for unity among Islamic nations to counter zionist ‘israeli’ regime’s barbarity

In a statement on Friday on the anniversary of the creation of Israel, the ministry condemned Tel Aviv’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, saying the event comes while Palestinians are under a new round of Israeli crimes.

It said 73 years ago, the Palestinian people were deprived of their ancestral land and home due to international conspiracies, and instead, a terrorist regime was created.

Some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their lands in 1948 and scattered across refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Palestine’s neighboring countries. Over five million Palestinian refugees are currently estimated to be still displaced.

“Since then, the Zionists have turned Occupied Palestine into a terrorist base against the Palestinian people and the Muslim nations of the region. Throughout these 7 decades, the United States and some world powers have fully supported this evil regime and turned a blind eye to the endless crimes of this terrorist regime,” the ministry said.

Amid this support, the statement said, the Zionists have committed countless organized crimes and inhumane acts against the Palestinians and other peoples of the region.

Friday also marks the fifth day of attacks by the Israeli regime against the besieged Gaza Strip, which forced Palestinians to leave their houses in the morning.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll from the Israeli airstrikes has risen to 119, including 31 children and 19 women, with 800 others wounded.

Israel also stepped up the deployment of its forces and tanks near Gaza, despite international calls for an immediate halt to its attacks.

Since the beginning of this year’s holy month of Ramadan, there have been recurring acts of aggression by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians in different areas of the occupied territories, including near the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the occupied city, and at the site of al-Aqsa Mosque.

In its statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the Islamic Republic strongly condemns the recent criminal actions committed by the Israeli regime against Palestinians, maintaining that the only way to resolve the conflict is by holding a referendum in which all original people of Palestine, including Muslims, Christians and Jews, can vote and decide their future.

It added that the Islamic Republic regards the issue of Palestine as the first priority of the Muslim world in spite of all the plots hatched by the hegemonic powers and the Zionist regime.

Iran has already proposed a referendum among all Palestinian people, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews, as well as their descendants, as the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi outlined the plan in two letters sent to the world body’s chief and the Security Council’s president on November 1, 2019.