TEHRAN, June 1 (MNA) -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has stated that Palestine is the most important human rights issue in the world and called the Zionist regime the new face of fascism. In response to the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla on Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a statement on Tuesday in which he strongly condemned Israel’s blatant disregard of human rights and flagrant breach of international law.
Following is an excerpt of Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement:
The outrageous attack the Zionist regime conducted on the humanitarian aid flotilla represents another link in the chain of numerous crimes this wicked regime has committed and which the seventh decade of its ignoble existence is filled with.
This is an example of the brutal acts of violence that Muslims in this region and the Palestinian people in particular have endured for decades.
The aid flotilla was not an Islamic or Arab convoy. Rather it represented international public opinion and humanity’s conscience in general. This outrageous attack provides irrefutable proof that Zionism is the new face of fascism and that it is being helped by the so-called upholders of human rights and freedom.
The United States, Britain, France, and some other European governments are rendering political, economic, military, and media assistance to this born criminal and constantly lend their support to its atrocities.
What does the three-year blockade of food and medicine imposed on 1.5 million Palestinian men, women, and children actually mean? How are the massacre, imprisonment, and daily torture of young Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank justified?
Palestine is no longer an Arab issue. It is not even an Islamic issue any more. Rather, it is the most important human rights issue of the modern world.
The symbolic act of dispatching humanitarian assistance convoys to Gaza should be repeated in dozens of other forms and shapes. The bloodthirsty Zionist regime and its supporters should sense the indomitable power of awakened human consciousness across the globe.
The Arab nations are facing a difficult test. The Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League should not be satisfied with anything less than a complete lifting of the blockade of Gaza, a total freeze in construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank, and prosecution of war criminals like Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak.
The Palestinian people should also know that their evil enemy is weaker and more vulnerable than ever before. Divine providence is premised upon the fact that wicked criminals determine their own destiny and bring themselves to their demise with their own hands.
Brothers and sisters of Palestine, put your trust and faith in God, believe in your power, and know that the ultimate victory is yours.
