Leader’s Hajj message reminds people of obligation to end Gaza genocide: Activist

By Alireza Kamandi

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s Hajj message reminds people of the world of their obligation to end the genocide inflicted on the Palestinian people, says a Greek human rights activist, author and academic.

In an interview with the Press TV website, Maria Nikolakaki said the Leader’s message goes beyond Muslims and extends to those who believe in God and can find it in their souls to fight injustice.

“It is a call for unification of humanity,” she said, referring to Ayatollah Khamenei’s Hajj message

“Christians have more commonalities in their faith with Muslims. So the message of Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei extends to those who believe in God and can find it in their souls to fight injustice. May peace, love and solidarity prevail over genocide and exceptionalism.”

In his annual Hajj message released on Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei said the tragedies in Gaza are unparalleled in contemporary history, as the regime continues to slaughter innocent Palestinians.

More than 37,400 Palestinians, most of them children and women, have been killed since October 7 last year in the Israeli genocidal aggression. Millions have been displaced and rendered homeless.

“This is the issue of unity, the issue of solidarity, the issue of being one, and the issue of communicating with all Muslims. This is a very important issue in Hajj” Nikolakaki noted.

Hajj, Nikolakaki added, is not only about the purification of the spirit but also about social norms.

“It has a spiritual side and a material side. Hajj is a multi-layered, multi-dimensional, meaningful obligation,” the Greek academic and activist told the Press TV website.

She said the genocide unfolding in Gaza is the first ever in history to be “televised” for the world to see.

“Once seen, it cannot be unseen. Emboldened by the immunity and impunity, backed by the US’s AIPAC-driven policies, the sheer barbarism of Zionists has shown a clear message to the world. Zionists feel entitled to do as they please and they stop at nothing” she stated.

“On the other side, Hamas’s message to the world is that Palestine is not done and that Palestinians will fight for their sovereignty over their lands.”

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She further said that Palestinian lives have been dehumanized and exterminated in all ways and the ongoing genocide in Gaza has woken up the world to this cruel reality.

Nikolakaki said the whole world, except a few Western countries, today stands in support of Palestine with Israel being increasingly isolated.

She said the establishment of the Israeli entity was based on “a series of abuses of power.”

“From the Balfour Declaration in 1917 between UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Balfour and the Lord of Rothschild to the UN Resolution 181 on November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly (also known as the Partition Resolution) that would divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948, the decision to partition Palestine to Jews for the creation of the only religious state in the world, was piled on deceptions” she noted.

Nikolakaki told the Press TV website that for the 75 years of its existence the Israeli regime has never stopped killing Palestinians, which they ironically call “mowing the grass”. It has continued to build illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in violation of UN resolutions.

“What we are witnessing in the Gaza Strip is the most horrific genocide against civilians and mostly children. Never before were children a legal target of war," she stated.

"The fact that we cannot stop them is a disgrace to humanity as a whole. Our humanity is challenged. How can people sleep at night?”

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“The Oded Yinon plan of 1984 exhibits that it is not Palestine only at risk, but other countries in the region face balkanization, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Unfortunately, the Muslim world is not united and fails to see the whole picture” Nikolakaki highlighted.

She said Netanyahu made clear with his little map presented in the UN in September 2023, a few days prior to the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation that he seeks to eliminate Palestine from the region and legitimize greater Israel.

Arab nations should be fully aware of what they are tolerating. It might come home to bite them. Stealing Palestinian oil, destroying Gaza to create the Ben Gurion canal and controlling Western Asia makes Israel’s ambitions beyond proportions.

“It is clear to anyone with a sober mind that the only possible solution to peace in the region and the world is the creation of a one-state solution of Palestine, which existed for thousands of years, even under various occupations,” she told the Press TV website.

“As a Greek, I need to remind that, in his book The Histories, Herodotus mentions Philistine several times. Before the creation of Israel, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side in harmony. We need to create this as the world’s new reality for humanity’s sake.”

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