The Iran-backed “leaders of the Resistance” marked the annual “Jerusalem Day” through public addresses, in which they vowed to keep up the confrontation against Israel, while criticizing Arab idleness and incapacity to check Israel’s “continuous onslaught” against the Palestinians in Gaza.
The announcement of the event noted that “the speeches will be broadcast live on the ‘Jerusalem Platform’ in all the countries of the ‘Resistance Axis,’ including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine.”
The insinuation that Lebanon is a “resistance country” is a blunt error because the Lebanese people are not part of this axis, whose strings are pulled by Iran. It is Hezbollah, and Hezbollah alone, that is part of this axis, and is endeavoring to draw the country of the Cedars and its inhabitants into arrangements detrimental to Lebanon and the Lebanese, while only benefiting its guardian, Iran.
The speeches were held on the occasion of the commemoration of Jerusalem Day (Yawm al-Quds), which falls on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan. The event was instituted by Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in 1979, as a sign of support for the Palestinians.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah underlined in his address what he called “the resistance’s achievements,” in yet another declaration aimed at justifying the extensive damage incurred following the party’s opening of the so-called “support front” for Gaza in south Lebanon.
“Some focus on the size of the sacrifices while ignoring the scope of the resistance’s achievements,” he said, stressing that “we are working to emerge from this battle steadfast and victorious, and to inflict defeat on the enemy and all those who stand behind it.”
Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh called for unified popular fronts in Arab and Muslim countries, in support of the Palestinian people seeking to liberate their land.
He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of procrastinating in ceasefire negotiations in order to remain in power as long as possible. He also reiterated the group’s terms for a truce, including a permanent ceasefire, return of Gaza residents to their homes, unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid, ending Gaza’s siege and reaching an honorable exchange of hostages and prisoners. “It will be either victory or martyrdom,” Haniyeh added.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated Tehran’s pledge that “the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus will not remain without a response.”
The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, blasted Arab countries for their failure to assist Gaza residents suffering from siege and hunger. “Our Arab and Muslim brothers cannot even provide a drop of water to the thirsty in Gaza without Israel’s permission,” he said, calling for the unity of the “resistance fronts” in confronting the scheme of “fragmenting the region in favor” of Israel.
The leader of Iraq’s Al-Nujaba Movement, Akram al-Kaabi, vowed that the confrontation against Israel will expand and persist as long as the Israeli military operations in Gaza continue. “We will not give up on Jerusalem and Palestine, which are at the core of our ideology,” he said.
