'Iran fully ready to break Gaza siege'

Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159612.html


Following the delivery of Iran's humanitarian aid and relief to Gaza, Tehran declares its preparation to help bring an end to the siege of the impoverished coastal sliver.

“The Iranian nation and government are fully prepared to break [the Israeli] blockade on the Gaza Strip as they demonstrated a good presence in the humanitarian aid convoy recently dispatched to Gaza,” said Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi in a meeting with the political leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Gaza, Saleh Zeidan, on Monday.

During the meeting, Roknabadi reiterated Iran's principal position in defending the people of Palestine, stressing on national unity among Palestinians and the continuation of resistance against the Israeli occupation.

A number of Iranian activists accompanied Asia's first humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza in December through the Rafah border crossing, carrying medical supplies and foodstuff for the Gazans.

Now that the enemies of Islam are in a weak position, Palestinian nation and the Muslim world must become more united to achieve their holy goals, Roknabadi added.

Zeidan, for his part, expressed his appreciation for the Islamic Republic's all-out support for the Palestinians, saying that Gaza remains under an Israeli siege and in spite of claims regarding easing of the siege, pressure on Palestinians continue to mount day by day as the international community maintains its silence toward persisting Israeli crimes.

“The Israeli regime is preparing the grounds to stage an attack on this region [Gaza] through magnifying the Gaza threat. But the people continue to confront them and remain committed to Palestinian ideals and resistance against occupiers,” Zeidan further explained.

Some 40 percent of the 1.5 million impoverished population of Gaza remain jobless after the Israeli regime imposed the siege on the sliver in June 2007.

The embargo persists while Gaza is still recovering from the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli offensive on the territory which claimed the lives of over 1,400 Palestinians and inflicted an estimated damage of over $1.6 billion on the enclave's economy.

The United Nations recently expressed concern that more than 80 percent of Gazans depend on relief supplies for survival.

Iran urges Islamic action on Gaza siege

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=132887§ionid=351020101



Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has called on parliaments of Islamic countries to join hands in defending the rights of the Palestinian nation.

“The Palestinian issue, in particular the besieged people of Gaza, is among the critical issues in the Islamic world, which needs to be examined,” IRNA quoted Larijani as saying in a meeting with Pakistani, Saudi, Lebanese and Bahraini parliament speakers on Wednesday night.

The Iranian official further added that the Islamic world especially the parliaments of Islamic countries were required to fulfill their duties to the Palestinian nation.

Larijani's remarks came on the sidelines of an Islamic inter-parliamentary summit in Syria, Damascus.

The Israeli assault on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the blockade of the Gaza Strip were high on the agenda of the talks.

The summit in Damascus ended on Wednesday with a final statement calling for an end to the three-year siege of Gaza, which has deprived 1.5 million residents of food, fuel, and other necessities.