Iran-Backed Palestinian Terror Surging Ahead Of Quds Day - April 14, 2023

(New York, N.Y.) – The Iranian regime’s annual observation of Quds Day, established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979, is the apex of Tehran’s routine antisemitic characterizations of Zionism. It is often highlighted by marches and rallies featuring chants of “Death to Israel” and “Death to America,” and a reminder that the Iranian regime funds, arms, and equips leading Palestinian terror organizations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – many of which have increased their violent activities in recent weeks.

To read United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s resource, Iran’s Anti-Israel Ideology: Quds Day, please click here.

In March, Israeli intelligence officials predicted a sharp escalation of violence during the Islamic religious holiday of Ramadan, which coincides with Quds Day. Officials reportedly believed that attacks could emanate from the West Bank, where Iran has accelerated its weapons smuggling in preparation for a confrontation.

Hezbollah is suspected of involvement in an IED attack in mid-March 2023 in Megiddo, rockets have been fired on Israeli communities from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and Hamas has been blamed by Israeli officials for a salvo of 34 rockets being fired from Lebanon – the largest attack on Israel’s northern border since 2006. Just prior to the start of Ramadan, a Hamas gunman wounded three people in an attack in Tel Aviv. More recently, Hamas celebrated the murder of two British-Israeli sisters and their mother in Hamra.

Additionally, a PIJ delegation met with the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, in Baghdad. The PIJ delegation to Iraq was led by secretary-general Ziyad al-Nakhala, who is also set to speak to demonstrators at this year’s Quds Day rallies, which would be unprecedented for al-Nakhala to speak from Iraq since he became secretary-general.

To read United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s resource, Iran and the Palestinian Nationalist Movement, please click here.

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