Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, the Iranian president’s special envoy on Afghanistan affairs, said the United States and Israel intended to invade the Gaza Strip and destroy the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, but they failed and were forced to accept the establishment of an independent Palestinian State after nearly four months of brutal war, Press TV reported.
“The US and the Zionist regime initially sought to occupy the Gaza Strip and relocate the Palestinian people to another region, then they announced that they would destroy Hamas and hand over the administration of Palestine to the Palestinian Authority,” Kazemi-Qomi said.
“Now, they say that it is impossible to destroy Hamas and the independent state of Palestine must be formed,” he added, “This is a kind of acknowledgment of the defeat of the Zionist regime in its war in the Gaza Strip.”
The Iranian diplomat underlined that even though the humanitarian and health situation in Gaza is very critical, “we neither see the pressure of Palestinian people on Hamas, nor the migration of people outside the strip.”
Reaffirming that Hamas is the military arm and beating heart of the resistance in Palestine, Kazemi-Qomi said, “Palestinians will never stop supporting Hamas.”
The Iranian diplomat said the Israeli regime’s authorities know that it is not wise to continue the war, adding, “So far, only 20% of the capacity of the resistance forces has entered the battle, and in addition to Gaza, various fronts have been opened by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.”
Kazemi-Qomi also touched on Washington’s long-standing policy towards Tel Aviv and said it is known that the Republicans are warmongers, but most of Israel’s aggression happened when the Democrats were in office in the US.
“The United States and the Zionist regime are looking for a long-term ceasefire so that the exchange of prisoners can be carried out in full, but lifting the siege is one of the serious issues in the ceasefire and peace plan,” he added.
“Gaza must be rebuilt, but the reconstruction of Gaza is not limited to the help of Arab countries, and today, the world’s public opinion supports Palestine and wants to stop the war and rebuild it.”
Israel waged its brutal war on besieged Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out an unprecedented operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 27,585 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 67,000 others.
Israel has imposed a “complete siege” on the densely-populated territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
MNA