Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei
The Islamic Republic of Iran has condemned Israel for its massacre of peaceful Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian protesters who were holding Nakba Day rallies and marches on Sunday.
The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations told a UN Security Council session on Tuesday that the killing of the demonstrators is a blatant example of state-sponsored terrorism and Israel must be held accountable for its terrorist operations. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaei said that Israel is distorting the truth to divert the international community’s attention from the criminal policies that the terrorist regime has adopted toward the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria and the merciless aggression it is directing toward them. On May 15, Israeli troops launched attacks on rallies and marches held in Palestine and bordering countries to protest against the establishment of Israel 63 years ago, killing dozens of people. Demonstrators gathered in cities across the Middle East to remember the May 15, 1948 occupation of Palestine, known as Nakba Day, which means Day of the Catastrophe in Arabic. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military killed two protesters, including a Palestinian teenager, and injured at least 65 others. A journalist suffered a critical injury from Israeli fire in the northern city of Beit Hanoun. One person was killed and at least 150 injured in the village of Qalandiya near the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. Two other Palestinians were killed and scores were injured by Israeli troops in other parts of the West Bank. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh urged Palestinians to continue the resistance against Israel and expressed hope that the Palestinians would one day return to their homeland. In Syria’s Golan Heights, at least 12 protesters were killed and 30 wounded by Israeli military fire. Israeli forces also fired into Lebanon, killing six protesters and injuring 71 others, 13 of them seriously.