Press TV has conducted an interview with Mohsen Saleh, professor at the Lebanese University, about the issue of Palestine. What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV:�Mr. Saleh, before I ask the next question, I�d like to bring in a quote here by Iran�s Foreign Ministry and I�ll just quote from a statement that we have got from Foreign Minster Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi. He said that "we are concerned about the Judization of Jerusalem al-Quds as a threat against the common heritage of humanity and we are calling for global action against this move."

"We as the Islamic Republic of Iran not only view the Judization of al-Quds and the demolition of the al-Aqsa Mosque as a threat to the interest of the Palestinians and the Muslim world but also consider it a threat to the common heritage of humanity as this land meaning Palestine and its symbol of religion and civilization belong to all human culture and civilization."

And that brings me to the question of how basically broad the issue of Palestine is while we are seeing negotiations set to resume between Israelis and the Palestinians even on the core issues?

We are hearing at the same time the illegal settlements on occupied land continuing and now very serious concerns about the demolition of the al-Aqsa Mosque or the Judization of Jerusalem [al-Quds].

So do you think that on the ground things are very more threatening that they appear to those who are calling for dialogue and that Israel is in reality not interested in even a two-state solution?

Saleh:�First of all good morning and many salutes and greetings to the spirit of the late Imam Khomeini, may peace be upon his blessed soul and spirit and also the greetings are stretched to the Leadership in Iran and the people of Iran because of their insistence of bringing the righteous issues to the appearance and to be called for in order to let people of the Arab world and others, the oppressed world to listen to the voice of justice of Imam Khomeini who called for this International Day of al-Quds from 1979 or even before.

And he was eager to unite Muslims around this issue of Palestine because this al-Quds is the capital of sky and the capital of the ground and the capital of the human heritage and culture. It is a sacred place for all religions.

That's true what the foreign minister said but the issue is that there is a conspiracy between the Arab rulers and the United States and the Israelis, the Zionist organizations in all over the world whether in the United States or in the Palestinian land.

All of them, they are trying to do and try to quiet any voice would be raised in order to call for liberating Palestine and al-Quds and we see some of these rulers, they go to Washington in order to pay homage to the United States and to the White House and tell them we are ready to exchange lands and also they are silent about what's happening in al-Quds, and al-Aqsa and confiscating lands and exiling people and threatening them and killing them and imprisoning them and doing all the bad things, all these atrocities against the Palestinians.

And now I guess it is something really astounding to see some of these Arab rulers they have gotten nothing till now and they are breathlessly, they are running behind the United States and the Zionists in order to sit and to surrender to their will as if they are domino stones and also all kinds of puppets to the United States.
And that is unfortunate because I guess the Arab people now they have a great role to go to the streets and express their deep feeling about al-Quds, whether in Cairo we do not see these great demonstrations, in Baghdad, in Damascus, in Libya, in Tunisia, in Morocco, every place we should see demonstrations to revive this International Day of al-Quds called by Imam Khomeini, may peace be upon him.
We see there is a kind of retreat and it's unfortunate in the Arab Spring in the Muslim Awakening and these Arab countries I guess it's something really astounding to see not a voice in these lands to call for the International Day of al-Quds and al-Aqsa.

What they are doing I do not know. They have stolen will, they have stolen mind, they have stolen culture, I really do not know but I would say one thing that the power of the resistance in Lebanon and in Palestine is really becoming bigger and bigger to liberate Palestine.

We are not relying on these rulers. We should rely on our will in order to create a new environment in fact revived by Imam Khomeini and the resistance in Lebanon and in Palestine.

By Press TV

 

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