Iran support for Palestine a 'rebuttal' of US, Israel agenda: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Joe Catron, with the International Solidarity Movement from New York, about remarks made by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei about the importance of defending the Palestinian cause.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How do you feel about Iran’s unwavering support to the Palestinian cause?

Catron: Well, I thought that the statements explored a number of elements concerning it very well. The most striking probably under the present conditions is of course attempts by the United States and its allies elsewhere, primarily Israel, to turn these clashes taking place across the Middle East into sectarian conflicts. This is something that only works to their advantage.

And I think Iran’s ongoing support of the Palestinians’ struggle and the Palestinian resistance groups is a very clear rebuttal of this claim and of attempts to reduce what is a struggle between settler colonialism and anti-colonialism to a clash of civilizations, or a conflict between different religious groups. This is their claim. It’s simply not true.

Press TV: And you’re sitting in New York, Ayatollah Khamenei was quite critical of course of the US government’s role in all of this, how do you feel about that?

Catron: Well, I’m certainly very critical of it as well. We know that the United States government has been unwavering in its support for Israel and explicitly for Israeli crimes almost continuously since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This is the result not only of substantial domestic pressure seeking to force politicians to pursue these policies to keep their positions but also a lack of consequences for the United States government on the international front. There’re simply few powers willing to seriously challenge this position.

Press TV: Indeed, and I want to ask rather then, Mr. Catron, the other countries in the region; we hear a lot of news about backdoor deals behind the scenes, relations between many of these dictatorships in the region and Israel. How do you feel about what kind of a difference and some kind of an impact that has on the Palestinian cause?

Catron: Well, many of these relationships are hardly a secret anymore; a number of them have come into the open even within the last year alone. And they certainly have a weakening effect. These are powers whom the Palestinians have traditionally relied upon to support their cause and it’s becoming quite evident how little that supposed support has meant while they have been paying lip service to the Palestinian struggle, behind the scenes they have been cutting every possible kind of deal with their supposed enemy. But this is something as I said that is hardly a secret anymore. Perhaps there are few secrets remaining, but for the most parts, everyone knows.

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