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Iran's top general: Muslims won't let Quds be separated

Thursday, 07 December 2017 6:52 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 08 December 2017 5:56 AM ]

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri

Iran's top military commander has condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the Israeli "capital," saying the move violates international resolutions and the rights of the Palestinians.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri said Thursday that Muslims would not allow a part of the Islamic world to be separated from its body.

Arab and Muslim governments "face a historical and decisive test," he said, adding "history will judge about their silence or support for the Muslim nations against the Zionist regime."

He also denounced Trump's "unwise" decision as "a blatant violation of the rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation and international resolutions," saying the US and the Zionist regime stand responsible for any tension and confrontation as a result of this move.

In a speech on Wednesday, Trump declared Jerusalem al-Quds as the "capital" of Israel and directed the State Department to start making arrangements to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the ancient city.

Leaders from the Muslim world and the wider international community were swift to blast Trump's move, which marks a controversial shift in the US foreign policy and threatens further inflammation of the tensions.

Violent clashes broke out in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip on Thursday, with Israeli forces injuring dozens of Palestinian protesters.

A Palestinian protester sets alight an America flag during clashes with Israeli troops near the Israeli settlement of Beit El, close to the West Bank city of Ramallah on December 7, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Israel claims sovereignty over the whole Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views East Jerusalem as occupied land and the Palestinians consider it their future capital.

Trump's decision, Baqeri said, emanates from the failure of US policies in the region and heralds a new Intifada (uprising) against the usurping Zionist regime.

"The world of arrogance, and foremost the criminal US, should know that the unity of the Muslim world will obstruct this desperate move and this measure will be defeated with the vigilance of the Muslim world while the Zionist regime will move closer to its annihilation," Baqeri said.

Israeli forces keep watch as Palestinian protesters shout slogans near an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 7, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Iranian commander said despite many years of flagrant Israeli aggression, the popular struggle against the occupation has not faded away and has rather become sturdier in its quality and endurance.

Baqeri further urged Muslim leaders to rise up against new American and Israeli plots in a united front and "nip any desperate move against the Palestinian state in the bud because we believe that Israel does not exist at all for it to have a capital and replace it."

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