Sistani: Ending Occupation only way to grant Palestinians their rights or resistance will continue

Iraq’s senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah, Ali Al-Sistani, has issued a statement yesterday in light of the on-going atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, calling on the world to rise up and end the “terrible brutality” the Zionist state is inflicting on Gaza which has killed and injured some 6,000 people in total.

Sistani said that “the occupying army is imposing a stifling siege on the Gaza Strip, which most recently includes water, food, medicine and other necessities of life, with the objective of causing the greatest harm to people who have no recourse and are powerless.”

He added it is “as if its intent is to take revenge on them and compensate for its resounding loss and great failure in recent confrontations.” The Occupation state has faced its biggest security challenge in decades in the face of the Hamas-led resistance operation, Al-Aqsa Flood, with mounting speculation that Hezbollah could open a front in the north.

Iraq’s top Shia cleric Ayatollah Sistani has condemned the bloody onslaught launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza, urges intl community to intervene pic.twitter.com/XqTfW824vf

— Press TV (@PressTV) October 12, 2023

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“Ending the tragedy of this honourable people, which has been ongoing for seven decades, by attaining them their legitimate right and ending the Occupation from their usurped lands, is the only way to achieve peace and security in this region,” Sistani continued.

“Without that, the resistance will continue against aggressors and the cycle of violence will continue to claim more innocent lives,” the statement concluded.

The Najaf-based marja (source of emulation in jurisprudence) wields considerable influence and has consistently been included among the top rank of The Muslim 500: The World’s Most Influential Muslims.

Sistan’s 2014 fatwa, calling on “citizens who are able to take up arms and fight terrorists in defence of their country must volunteer and join the security forces.” This edict led to the establishment of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) to combat Daesh, at a time when they controlled large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory. It is worth noting that Sistani’s statement is short of a fatwa.

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