By Press TV Staff Writer
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, addressing a gathering of students ahead of the National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance on Wednesday, hailed the Palestinian resistance for its courageous fight against the West-backed occupying regime.
He called for an immediate end to the weeks-long bombing campaign in the besieged territory, which has claimed the lives of more than 8,500 Palestinians and spawned a terrible humanitarian crisis.
But, as Leader’s remarks implied, the end of the ongoing genocide in Gaza isn’t enough. It’s important for free countries of the world to end the exports of oil and other commodities to the Israeli regime.
The death toll in the Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, four weeks after the no-holds-barred campaign started, continues to mount, with the majority of victims being children, women and the elderly.
The human casualties have been accompanied by the crippling humanitarian blockade, including the cutting of electricity, water and fuel, which has made the functioning of hospitals impossible.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of Palestinians were massacred at the Jabalia refugee camp, a residential neighborhood in northern Gaza, after the Israeli warplanes dropped many bombs there.
The Israeli plan to depopulate Gaza has so far failed as 2.2 million people living in the territory, including the indigenous resistance groups, have firmly stood their ground and resisted.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the most powerful and most vocal voice in support of the Palestinian cause, in his Wednesday speech commended the Palestinian people for their resilience.
He said the people in the besieged Gaza Strip “have stirred the human conscience with their patience”, referring to massive pro-Palestine demonstrations in recent weeks across the world.
Ayatollah Khamenei also mocked the claim that Iran was behind these pro-Palestine protests, especially in Western countries, asking whether Basijis in London or Paris organized the rallies.
He reiterated that this war, unlike the media narratives, was not between Israel and Gaza, but between “truth and falsehood” and between “arrogant forces and people of faith.”
“The world of imperialism has come forward with bombs, military pressure, tragedies, and crime, but you should know that the power of faith will overcome all of these,” he asserted.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution urged Muslim governments to “block the export of oil and other commodities to the Zionist regime” as a mark of protest over what’s unfolding in the Gaza Strip.
Repeating what he has said before, Ayatollah Khamenei affirmed that the Muslim world must not forget it was the US, Britain, France and other states that “stood against Islam and oppressed Palestinians.”
In his remarks last week, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the US is a “definite accomplice” of the Zionist regime and its hands are drenched in the blood of the oppressed Palestinians.
“Actually, it is the US that is somehow managing the crime that is being committed in Gaza. The US is the one that is managing things,” he stated at the time, underlining the fact that Americans and its Western allies are not merely complicit in the Gaza genocide but key masterminds of it.
On Wednesday, he repeated that the Zionist regime “will be crippled in a matter of days” without the help of the US, referring to the overwhelming dependence of the Tel Aviv regime on Washington.
Ayatollah Khamenei also denounced the Western governments and their media apparatuses for labeling Palestinian freedom fighters as “terrorists”, describing it as one of the signs of their shamelessness.
“The Germans occupied Paris in World War II. Were the French who were fighting the Germans terrorists” he stated, calling out the Western double standards.
Ayatollah Khamenei hastened to add that the Zionist entity has been stunned by “irreparable blow” and that the ultimate victory, which isn’t too far away, belongs to Palestine and Palestinians.
“The Zionist regime is now helpless, confused. It lies to its own people. The fact that they are worried about their prisoners in the hands of the Palestinians is also a lie,” the Leader stressed.
The Hamas-led Palestinian resistance has taken more than 200 Israeli military personnel and soldiers as captives and intends to swap them with thousands of Palestinians languishing in Israeli prisons.
While the Israeli regime has demanded the release of its captives, it has at the same time continued to bomb the densely-populated civilian areas in Gaza where the captives are held.
Earlier this week, a video of three captured Israeli women was released by Hamas, which showed them in utter disillusionment and anger accusing Netanyahu of not caring for their lives.
“We are innocent citizens… You want to kill us all; you are killing us, you want us to die and you want the army to kill us. You killed many Israelis. Let us go now… Let us return to our families now,” one of them was quoted as saying, addressing the Israeli regime’s embattled premier.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the same, saying the Israeli regime was lying to its people and warned that the bombs dropped on the besieged territory would also kill the Israeli captives.
The speech ended amid vociferous chants against the regimes in Tel Aviv and Washington and a reaffirmation of support and solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.
