Q: Do you think that protests against the failure of peace talks are the motivation behind the current Intifada?

A: No one on either side takes the endless talks seriously. Netanyahu has made it clear more than once that he has no intention as prime minister of ceding any more settlements or of stopping their expansion. His goal is to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel, to lead the way to destruction of al-Aqsa Mosque and the building on Temple Mount a Jewish temple dedicated to King Solomon. Palestinians have no 'negotiating' position, as they were granted a state in 1947 by the UN, which Israel subsequently denied them. They merely trust that the UN will eventually be able to enact the original agreement or convince Israel to negotiate a solution in line with the agreement that allowed Israel to be created in 1947. So the intifadas will continue as long as there are Palestinians alive to fight for their rights.

Q: Please comment on the hypocrisy of western countries, which loudly bemoan every death of a western and/or Israeli citizen and ignore the daily killing of dozens of Palestinians.

A: Yes, western media is hypocritical, marginally concerned when a westerner dies, but oblivious to the daily torture and murder of Palestinians. But the concern for westerners and those with western passports does have some effect. Just two days ago, a Canadian artist of Palestinian origins, Rehab Nazzal, was shot in Bethlehem unprovoked, merely taking pictures which the Israeli conscripts resented. Resented with good reason, for these members of the Israeli Defense Forces were spraying a Palestinian neighborhood with  "skunk," a smelly, nonlethal liquid used for crowd control. So one of them turned around and shot her to teach her who is boss.

The leader of the Islamic Revolution has once again addressed western youth, who either for the most part are misinformed about Islam because of the bias in media and society in favour of Israel and Zionism, or are Muslim but living in a climate of Islamophobia and in desperation have drifted to the militant jihadist movement which began in Afghanistan in 1979 with US blessing, and is now a permanent feature of world politics. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls on them to "reconsider the threat of terrorism in the world, its roots and to find a deep insight into Islam."

The tone of the Ayatollah's reflections is calm and friendly, the content intelligent and at the same time heartfelt. You can feel his spirit of universal love and his anguish at the suffering that terrorism brings. It is sad to note that western media and politicians have an obsession against Iran, despite Iran's constant reaching out and attempts to help the West fight terrorism. The reasons, of course, are Iran's staunch support for Palestine and its refusal to submit to the dictates of imperialism. Both unforgivable 'sins'.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently held a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the squashing of UN resolution 3379, equating Zionism with racism. It was passed in 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions). The festive event this year was attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry and head of the Israeli Labour Party and Zionist Union Isaac Herzog, son of Chaim Herzog, president of Israel from 1983 to 1993, and star of the 1975 UN session.

The 1975 vote took place approximately one year after resolution 3237 granted the PLO “observer status”, following Yasser Arafat’s “olive branch” speech to the General Assembly in November 1974. It succeeded only because the Soviet Union and its allies were there to support the Arab and Islamic majority countries.

http://en.mehrnews.com/news/110786/Hajj-tragedies-has-to-be-dealt-with-bravely-openly

1/ Considering the recent Israeli attacks on the Al-Aqsa mosque and its implementation of strict security measures in the occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem), what do you see as the purpose of Israel?

This week, Israeli snipers on the roof of the holy site provoked demonstrations by Palestinians. At least 36 Palestinians were injured in clashes on Tuesday. Yousef Mukhaimar, the head of the Al-Aqsa worshipper movement Mourabitoun said that Muslim Palestinians were "prohibited from entering the mosque to pray, while Israeli settlers are allowed to enter the mosque and roam around freely under police protection. The Israelis are trying to establish a precedent by dividing Al-Aqsa Mosque compound into sections and time segments, so they can give Israeli settlers access to our mosque," Mourabitoun activist Abasi said. "We will never agree to such plan because it is obvious that the Israelis are trying to take it over piecemeal."