Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said in speech that aired last week on Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas-Gaza) that the conflict with Israel will only end with the removal of the occupation from Palestine and with the Palestinians’ return to the “liberated and cleansed” Al-Aqsa mosque. He said that the Palestinians “suckled this spirit” from their mothers, who “breastfed [it] to their children along with the milk.”
In addition, Sinwar said that the Grad and Fajr missiles that have been launched at Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Beershevea were either provided by Iran or developed locally with the financial and technical support of Iran. He threatened that Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities would be “crushed” if a future conflict with Israel erupts, and added: “If not for Iran’s support for the resistance … we would not have obtained these capabilities. Our [Arab] nation has deserted us in our difficult moments, while Iran has supported us with weapons, equipment and expertise.”
The speech was delivered on the occasion of the Iran’s “Quds Day.”
Yahya Sinwar: “I hereby declare that this conflict will only end with the removal of the occupation from all our occupied lands, and not before we return to Jerusalem and pray in the squares of the liberated and cleansed Al-Aqsa mosque, Allah willing. We have suckled this spirit from our mothers. Our mothers breastfeed this spirit to their children along with the milk. This conflict will only end with the removal of the occupation from all our sacred soil.
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“[In 2008,] we in the resistance factions only had several [BM-21] Grad missiles—provided to us by the Islamic Republic of Iran—in addition to some locally-made missiles and some mortar shells. The world was surprised when the resistance shelled Beersheva with Grad missiles that have a range of 40 kilometers. Four years later, in 2012, our resistance struck Tel Aviv for the first time, using Fajr missiles, which were provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran and with locally made missiles.
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“In 2014, we hit Tel Aviv with 170 missiles, including Fajr missiles provided by Iran. Most of the missiles were locally made, but also with the financial and technical support of Iran.
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“If Allah so decrees, and a war erupts with this occupier, Tel Aviv will be crushed with a lot more [missiles] than in 2014, and so will other cities.
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“Let me reiterate—if not for Iran’s support for the resistance in Palestine, we would not have obtained these capabilities. Indeed, our [Arab] nation has deserted us. Our nation has deserted us in our difficult moments, while Iran has supported us with weapons, equipment and expertise.”
