Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a meeting with the families of the security forces killed during the Iran’s protests, in Tehran, Iran, December 9, 2022. Photo: Presidential Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi delivered an unprecedented speech at an annual pro-Palestinian rally in the Gaza Strip on Friday, highlighting Iran’s importance to the Hamas terrorist group that controls the territory.

In a video broadcast in front of hundreds of supporters of the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad gathered on a football field, Raisi encouraged the Palestinians to continue their fight against Israel.

“The initiative for self-determination is now in the hands of the Palestinian fighters,” the Iranian president said, thus rejecting Hamas’ political rival, the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank.

Raisi addressed the crowd on “Jerusalem Day,” or al-Quds Day, the Arabic name of the city, which takes place on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. “Normalization (with Israel) does not create security (…) for countries that establish relations with the Zionist regime,” Raisi launched, reiterating his country’s support “for the resistance front.”

During the rally, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehiyeh Sinwar, called on the leaders of Arab and Muslim countries “not to normalize (their relations) with Israel, to close the (Israeli) embassies and to support the resistance of the Palestinian people.” He also praised the recent rocket attacks on Israel.

Over the past four decades, “Jerusalem Day” rallies have attracted thousands of people to the streets of the Middle East, especially in Iran, where crowds regularly burn Israeli flags and call for the “death” of the Jewish state.

Although Hamas is a Sunni Muslim group, it has long maintained close ties with Iran, a Shiite country, with which it shares a hostility towards Israel. Hamas has in the past expressed its gratitude to the Islamic Republic for its support.

Although the details of this aid have not been disclosed, experts believe that it is financial, military and political. According to the US State Department, Iran provides about $100 million a year to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.