Senior Iranian official Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says Palestine is the most important issue for the Islamic world, warning Muslim countries against forgetting the Palestinians.

“The issue of Palestine, as the most important matter in the Islamic world, should not slip into oblivion amid political rifts and hue and cry because it is the wish of the Zionists to take advantage of Muslims’ forgetting [the issue] to broaden the extent of their crimes,” the chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council said.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani made the remarks in a Tuesday meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to Tehran Salah al-Zawawi.

He said that rulers of certain Islamic countries have forgotten the Palestinian issue to such an extent that Israel is no longer considered a “dangerous phenomenon” in the Middle East region.

Describing the Palestinian nation as the most oppressed people in the world, the high-ranking Iranian official said all Palestinians, whether those who are living in their homeland or those who have taken refuge in other countries against their will, are struggling for their cause.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani also reaffirmed Iran’s support for the Palestinian people, especially in their Intifadas (uprisings) against Israel.

The Palestinian envoy, for his part, said the Israeli regime backed by the United States is pursuing a new plot for Palestinians.

Israel’s crimes are taking new forms in al-Quds (Jerusalem), Gaza and Rafah, the envoy said, adding that the Tel Aviv regime blatantly defies not so strict international regulations.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] A Palestinian protester clashes with Israeli forces (unseen) in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Bireh, on the northern outskirts of Ramallah, on October 20, 2015. © AFP[/caption]

 

The occupied Palestinian territories have been the scene of a fresh wave of clashes between Palestinians and the Israelis. The clashes were triggered by the Israeli regime’s imposition of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque on August 26.

Growing violence by Israeli settlers, who frequently storm the al-Aqsa Mosque, has also fueled Palestinians’ anger at the Tel Aviv regime.

The fresh violence comes as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday made an unannounced visit to al-Quds in a bid to calm the rising tensions in the occupied territories.

Israeli troops and armed settlers have killed some 51 Palestinians while eight Israelis have also been killed in fresh clashes.

By Press TV