ABNA
Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani strongly condemned the recent Israeli attacks on the defenseless Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and called on the Muslim nations and world freedom-seekers to show their hatred for the Zionists in the upcoming International Quds Day.
"The wave of hatred against the Zionists should include all freedom-seeking nations as well as Muslim countries," Rafsanjani said, addressing a group of entrepreneurs and lawmakers in Tehran on Sunday.
He pointed to the Israeli attacks on the defenseless Palestinians, and reminded that "the people of Gaza, specially the oppressed women and children who have been under the siege of the Zionists, are being attacked by Israel from air and land", saying that the Palestinian victims of the Israeli attacks need the support of all the world Muslims and freedom-seekers.
Israel has been pounding the blockaded Gaza for 13 consecutive days, killing at least 355 people and injuring more than 2,600 others.
According to the UN, 77% of the victims in Gaza are civilians and defenseless people.
International Quds Day is an annual event opposing Israel’s occupation of Beitul-Muqaddas.
Anti-Zionist rallies and demonstrations are held every year on the last Friday of Ramadan in Muslim and Arab countries around the world, and especially in Iran.
The International Quds Day was started by the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in 1979 as a way of expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and underscoring importance of the holy Quds to Muslims.