Iranian parliament speaker proposes Qods Committee to help Gazans

TEHRAN, May 11 (MNA) — Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has proposed establishment of a Qods committee at the initiative of the parliaments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine to help remedy the agonies of Palestinian people in Gaza.

In a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Mahmoud al-Abrash in Istanbul on Monday, Larijani asked Damascus to lend its support for establishing such a committee.

Israel has imposed crippling sanctions on 1.5 million Gaza residents by surrounding the coastal strip from air, land, and sea.

Larijani who has visited Turkey to participate in the emergency meeting of the Parliament Speakers of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Countries (PUIC-OIC) condemned the Zionist regime’s atrocities in the occupied lands particularly a forced evacuation of Palestinians from their homes in East Beit-ul-Moqaddas.

A continued violations of international law by Israel in Palestine including military attacks on the Gaza residential areas; construction of illegal settlements; unlawful excavations under the Al-Aqsa mosque; attempts for confiscation and transformation of Muslim and Christian holy places to Jewish heritage; and attempts for mass deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank are among the recent developments in Palestine which is expected to feature in the three-day event.

Syrian Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash referred to the pivotal roles of Tehran and Damascus in the region, saying, “Iran and Syria have taken common stance towards the illegal actions of the Zionist regime of Israel and therefore, they are seeking to attain appropriate strategies to that effect.”

He also expressed hope that the Istanbul meeting could be effective to help the people of Palestine.