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Tens of thousands of Iranians marched through the capital Tehran on Friday, some chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” to mark the annual Jerusalem Day in support of the Palestinians.
Senior Iranian officials attended the rally, including President Ibrahim Raisi.
Since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, gatherings to commemorate Al-Quds Day have usually been held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Al-Quds is the Arabic name for the disputed city at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel captured East Jerusalem and incorporated it into its capital during the 1967 Middle East War. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as their future capital. Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. The compound is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf told demonstrators that Israel was the “root” of the region’s problems and that Palestinian militants were thwarting Israel’s plans.
The rally was the first Quds Day demonstration in a country shaken by months of anti-government protests.
In September, the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman after being detained by morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict Islamic dress code sparked wave after wave of protests. The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s ruling Shia clerics, marking a major challenge to their four-year rule. Iran blamed the unrest on foreign powers.
Demonstrators gathered on the Tehran University campus from 10 different directions on Friday, and the ceremony ended with Friday noon prayers.
State television showed footage of similar rallies in other Iranian towns. Many carried Palestinian flags and those of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah. Demonstrators in some places torched American and Israeli flags, as well as a statue of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reza Masoumi, a 63-year-old retired teacher, said he attended the rally to remind Israel, “They cannot suppress the Palestinians.” We Iranians support Palestine.
Fatemeh Yasrebi, a 20-year-old student, said she supported the Palestinians “until Israel withdraws from the occupied Palestinian land”. Peace between Muslim countries and Israel is impossible.
State television has shown footage of Israeli police assaulting Palestinian worshipers inside the Al-Aqsa mosque in recent days.
Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israel militant groups such as Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel and Iran see each other as old enemies in the Middle East.
(Disclaimer: This story was auto-generated from a syndicate feed; only images and captions may have been edited by www.republicworld.com)
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