Iranian-Sponsored World Jerusalem Day A display of anti-Israeli anti-United States propaganda and calls for their destruction

Overview

• World Jerusalem Day is marked on the last Friday of Ramadan a decision made by the Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, in 1979. Its objective is to show the support of Iran and the Muslim world for the Palestinian cause and the “liberation” of Jerusalem. The day is marked in Arab-Muslim countries and in the West as well. The events are platforms to slander Israel, call for its destruction and act defiantly toward the United States. This year Jerusalem Day events were held on April 29 with rallies and demonstrations, after a two-year coronavirus hiatus.
• This year Jerusalem Day events were outlined by growing tension in Jerusalem, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) propaganda and incitement to violence in Judea and Samaria, and a series of lethal terrorist attacks in Israeli cities. Jerusalem Day spokesmen gave militant speeches threatening Israel and the terrorist organizations (Hamas and the PIJ) took advantage of the day to display their military capabilities.
• The main events were held in Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan, Bahrain and Iraq. During the events in Iran demonstrators burned Israeli and American flags and chanted slogans for their destruction. Iran took advantage of the events for military parades and displays. Jerusalem Day was also marked in the Gaza Strip, where a recorded speech given by Hossein Salami, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was televised during the rally in Gaza City. He praised the terrorists who carried out the recent attacks in Israel, especially Ra’ed Hazzem, who shot five civilians to death in Tel Aviv, and promised to continue supporting the Palestinians.
• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech praising the Palestinians, who, he said, were willing to fight for the sake of Jerusalem, also praising the popular terrorism activities in the West Bank. He called the lone-wolf attacks inside Israel the most dangerous things Israel had to deal with, claiming they were very important because they did not demand extreme capabilities, all that was needed was a gun or a knife.

Jerusalem Day Events

The Gaza Strip

•   Jerusalem Day was marked on April 30, 2022, with a mass rally held by all the Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. The high point was the video speech given by IRGC commander Hossein Salami, broadcast on a giant screen. He praised the terrorists who carried out the most recent terrorist attacks in Israel, saying that the Palestinian people knew they could only achieve their objectives through jihad. He noted Ra’ed Hazzem, the terrorist who murdered five civilians in cold blood in Tel Aviv, calling him the “shaheed Hazzem, one of the heroes who changed the equation with courage and bravery, after having passed through all the barricades and obstacles to threaten the occupation’s security.” He said the Iranians would continue to support the Palestinian people, and had hopes for great success in the future (IRNA, April 28, 2022).

   
Right: The rally in Gaza City. Left: Speech broadcast by IRGC commander Hossein Salami to the rally in Gaza City (Tasnim News Agency in Arabid, April 30, 2022).

• Several senior Hamas figures were interviewed at the rally. Rawhi Mushtaha, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said Jerusalem was not only a Palestinian issue, it belonged to the entire Arab-Muslim nation. Therefore, the Arab-Muslim nation had to help the Palestinians with everything they could, money, weapons and propaganda, to help Jerusalem (Tasnim News Agency in Arabic, April 30, 2022). Dr. Walid al-Qutati, a member of the PIJ’s political bureau, said the organization’s message for Jerusalem Day from the Gaza Strip was that Jerusalem was the most important issue. Jerusalem and “Palestine,” he claimed, were waiting for “liberation,” and the [“resistance”] axis countries opposed the Zionist and American control of the region.
• The day before the rally, the PIJ held its own mass march through the streets of Gaza City. It was attended by hundreds of marchers who chanted slogans in support of Jerusalem. The march was followed by a rally. Senior PIJ figure Khaled al-Batash said Jerusalem Day stressed the importance of the Palestinian cause. He said that adherence to the option of an armed “resistance” fostered relations and ties within the Arab nation (al-Andalou News, April 29, 2022). As opposed to events in previous years, Israeli and American flags were apparently not burned.

• Spokesmen for the Palestinian organizations’ military-terrorist wings also made statements for Jerusalem Day. Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, thanked Iranian leader Khamenei for his Jerusalem Day speech, adding that they valued Iran’s firm, sincere stance supporting the “resistance” [i.e., terrorist organizations] and the Palestinian people, despite all the challenges facing them (al-Mayadeen, May 1, 2022).
• Abu Hamza, spokesman for the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing, said the “millions” [sic] of people who had participated in Jerusalem Day events gave them hope and [showed] the “resistance” stood on firm ground and was fighting the “Zionist enemy” in Gaza and Jenin and Jerusalem and all the cities (Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades Telegram channel, April 30, 2022). He also took advantage of the events to display Hamas’ “Jenin” UAV. He reported it had been used on September 7, 2019, to attack an IDF jeep.^[1] He said Jerusalem Day was a “day of unity calling the [Muslim] nation to stand against its enemies.” He claimed that according to the “equation,” an attack on al-Aqsa mosque meant [a declaration of] war (Filastin al-Yawm, April 28, 2022).

Iran

• On April 29, 2022, mass marches were held throughout Iran to mark World Jerusalem Day. Marchers held signs reading, “Death to Israel” and “Death to the United States.” They burned Israeli and American flags and walked on Israeli flags (Tasnim News Agency in Arabic, April 29, 2022).

   
Mass marches in Iran for World Jerusalem Day (Tasnim News Agency in Arabic, April 29, 2022).

 
Vandalizing the Israeli flag (Tasnim News Agency in Arabic, April 29, 2022).

 
Chanting anti-American slogans and burning the American flag (Tasnim News Agency in Arabic, April 29, 2022).

• Jerusalem Day speeches were given by Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, who spoke in Arabic, and IRGC commander Hossein Salami. Both related to Israel and the United States and stressed Iran’s support for the Palestinians. Esmail Ghaani, commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force, recommended the Jews sell their property in the “occupied territories” [i.e., the State of Israel] and return to their homes in European countries before it was too late (Tasnim News Agency, April 29, 2022). A Hamas delegation headed by Khalil al-Haya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, arrived in Iran to participate in the Jerusalem Day events in Tehran.^[2]

• Iran took advantage of Jerusalem Day events for a display of military force, revealing its “Haifa special unit” (Younews, April 29, 2022). In his speech for Jerusalem Day, Esmail Ghaani, commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force, revealed that Iran had deployed to launch UAVs into Israel and that Israel had sent 41 warplanes to intercept them. He claimed Israel had not won any war and that it would not be long before the Palestinian people were “free” (al-Alam, April 29, 2022). He related to the IDF’s exposure that a year ago Israeli Air Force aircraft had intercepted Iranian UAVs which were trying to smuggle weapons to the Gaza Strip (Israeli media, March 7, 2022).
•  Iran displayed two ballistic missiles, the Zelzal (“earthquake”) and the Khaybar Shikan (DW, April 29, 2022). A free translation of Khaybar Shikan is “an attack on the city of Khaybar.” Khaybar was a Jewish city in what is now Saudi Arabia and was attacked by the armies of Muhammad, slaughtering the residents. For Muslims, Khaybar symbolizes the defeat of the Jews by Islam. The missile was revealed by the IRGC air force’s commander in February 2022. It reportedly has a range that covers the area of the State of Israel and can supposedly penetrate the Iron Dome aerial defense system.

Lebanon

• On April 29, 2022, Hezbollah held a rally in the Sayid al-Shuhadaa hall in the Shi’ite quarter of Dahia, a southern suburb of Beirut. Uniformed Hezbollah operatives marched through the hall carrying Lebanese and Hezbollah flags, and a large model of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount (al-‘Ahed, April 29, 2022).
• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech praising the Palestinians, for their willingness to fight for the sake of Jerusalem and their popular terrorism activities in the West Bank. He called the lone-wolf attacks inside Israel the most dangerous things Israel had to deal with, claiming they were very important because they did not demand extreme capabilities, all that was needed was a gun or a knife. He claimed they showed the low level of Israel’s security and the ineptness of its security forces, and returning Jerusalem and “Palestine” to [the front page of] the global media. He called for the political, moral, media, financial and military support of the attacks. He also said the “Sword of Jerusalem” [i.e., Operation Guardian of the Walls] showed the interdependence of the various arenas of the [so-called] “resistance axis.” He claimed that despite Israel’s attempts to isolate the various arenas, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Lebanon operated as a unified front (al-Manar, April 30 2022).

   
Hezbollah military display for World Jerusalem Day held in Beirut’s Shi’ite Dahia neighborhood (al-‘Ahed, April 29, 2022).

• Deputy Hezbollah leader Na’im Qassem called on Muslims all over the world to unite and for Palestinians to feel that everyone was defending them from Israel. He said the “resistance axis” was getting stronger ever day and nothing could withstand it (al-Nur Radio Telegram channel, April 29, 2022).
• Lebanese gathered at several locations along the border with Israel and waved Hezbollah, Palestinian and Lebanese flags. The demonstrators did not approach the fence or confront Israeli security forces.

   
Lebanese demonstrate across the border from Metulla (Ali Shoeib’s Twitter account, April 29, 2022).

Yemen

•  Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, participated at a rally held in Yemen and gave a speech in which he said the Palestinian people had decided that “resistance” [i.e., violence and terrorist attacks] was the best way to “liberate” Jerusalem, and no attempt to attack Palestinians would be allowed [to succeed] (Sabaq24, April 29, 2022).

Iraq

Bahrain

Right: World Jerusalem Day march in Bahrain (Filastin al-Yawm, April 29, 2022). Left: Demonstrators walk on an Israeli flag in Manama, the capital of Bahrain (ultrapalestine Twitter account, April 29, 2022).

• After the Jerusalem Day events in Bahrain, the Shi’ite al-Wefaq Society announced that dozens of civilians who had participated in Jerusalem Day rallies had been summoned by the authorities for interrogation (al-Wefaq Twitter account, May 10, 2022).

Pakistan

 
Jerusalem Day march in Pakistan (Paldf Twitter account, April 30, 2022).

Turkey

   
World Jerusalem Day rally in Ankara (ultrapalestine Twitter account, April 29, 2022).

Britain

Germany

• According to reports, the German police prevented a Jerusalem Day rally from being held in Berlin because it was claimed anti-Semitic slogans would be used (DW website in Arabic, April 29, 2022).

^[1] On the morning of September 7, 2019, a quadcopter carrying explosives was launched for the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. It dropped its explosives on an IDF jeep, damaging it. No casualties were reported. Senior PIJ figure Khader Habib claimed the "resistance" had stepped up a notch by attacking an IDF jeep with a UAV (Dunia al-Watan, September 9, 2019). ↑

^[2] For further information, see the May 12, 2022 bulletin, "Spotlight on Iran April 28, 2022 – May 12, 2022." 

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