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January 11, 2023 Special Dispatch No. 10418

Iran-Backed Conference In Damascus On The Topic Of Israel's Demise: Israel Is A Malignant Tumor That Will Be Eliminated Thanks To The Syrian Armed Forces, And The Lebanese And Palestinian Resistance

January 11, 2023
Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 10418

A conference recently held in Damascus, Syria, was devoted to the topic of Israel's demise. Organized by the Al-Quds International Institute, which is affiliated with Hamas,[1] the conference was attended by senior members of this institute and by representatives of Palestinian organizations and factions in Syria, such as Isma'il Al-Sindawi, the coordinator of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Syria. Also present were Iranian and pro-Iranian figures, such as Amin Shokravi, a representative of the Iranian embassy in Syria, and Muhammad Al-Buhaisi, chair of the Iranian-Palestinian Friendship Society.

The conference participants stated that Israel was a temporary phenomenon and that the struggle against it would eventually lead to its collapse. The main lecture, delivered by Syrian researcher Shadi Diab, presented data allegedly indicating that Israel is bound to disappear, and stressed the importance of Palestinian resistance in achieving this objective. Diab called on the Palestinians to take advantage of Syria's and Iran's support in order to continue the resistance.

It should be noted that this is not the first conference held by the Al-Quds International Institute in Syria in the recent years with the participation of Iranian representatives.[2] Events of this sort are part of the efforts to promote the agenda of the Iranian regime in Syria, a regime which places the elimination of Israel at the heart of its ideology and supports terrorist organizations such as Hizbullah,  Hamas and the PIJ in order to achieve this aim.


The conference in Damascus (image: Facebook.com/qii.press, November 30, 2022)

This report reviews some of the statements made at the conference.

Conference Chair: The Steadfastness Of The Palestinian People Is The Basic Factor In The  Elimination Of Israel

The conference was chaired by Yousuf As'ad, member of the executive council of the Al-Quds Institute's Syria branch, who also delivered the opening address. He said: "The Israeli occupation, which represents global Zionism, does not have the characteristics of a state, and any state that lacks such characteristics is necessarily temporary… The steadfastness of the Palestinian and Arab people is the basic factor in the elimination of 'Israel,' on whose [survival] the West has wagered. Generations that believe in the Palestinian cause are the most important condition for [achieving] the disappearance of this oppressive entity."[3] 

Syrian Researcher At The Conference: The Zionist Entity Will Collapse Sooner Or Later; Palestinians Should Take Advantage Of Syria's And Iran's Help In Order To Eliminate It From The Region

According to the Syrian state daily Al-Thawra, the first lecture at the conference, delivered by Syrian researcher Shadi Diab, presented data indicating Israel's inevitable demise. He said: "[The first] piece of data is the demographic problem facing the [Israeli] entity, and its failure to achieve harmony among its [Jewish] residents, who immigrated [to it] from different parts of the world and have different identities, cultures and languages, different circumstances and widely differing goals.  This entity never managed to achieve a consensus among these sectors, who came from all over the world, and this disparity is evident in the struggle and fierce competition that currently prevail in the political arena and in the government of this entity, between the various political, ethnic and religious sectors, such as the Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Haredi [Jews], between right and left, between religious and secular people, between the civilian and military sectors, etc. 

"The Zionist media conceals these struggles and disagreements and prevents [the publication of] any information about them inside and outside the [Zionist] entity. The emigration of the entity's residents in times of crisis and war is one of the most prominent facts indicating that these residents feel no sense of belonging to  Israel and do not believe in its future. Nothing is keeping them there except interests and their luxurious lifestyle, and when these disappear they quickly leave the entity in favor of their original homelands or any other country where they can realize their interests."[4]

Diab said further: "This entity is now suffering from a problem in its relations with the world, since it is a malignant tumor within it. [Its citizens] are a rabble that came from every direction, from over 80 countries, to buy up Palestinian land, and they still keep their [foreign] passports,  fearing the moment of sudden collapse that will [eventually] happen on Palestinian soil. [The entity] will collapse thanks to the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, and even with the help of our Arab Syrian army. It will collapse sooner or later…"[5]


The conference participants (image: Facebook.com/qii.press, November 30, 2022)

Diab added: "The ongoing Palestinian resistance against the occupation and the Zionist enterprise, [carried out] inside occupied Palestine and in its Arab surroundings, is the main factor that will facilitate the elimination of the Israeli entity. Syria has taken a heroic stance in support of the Palestinian resistance, and it is almost the only regional [country] to do so, apart from Iran, which [likewise] supports the resistance in confronting this aggressive [Zionist] settlement plan…

"The Palestinian resistance must unite, transcend the disagreements and derive benefit from the support of Syria, Iran and [other] freedom-loving people in the Arab homeland and around the world -- in order to continue the resistance and the confrontation with the occupation and in order to oppose its aggression, its expansionist ambitions and its racism, as the main way to uproot this alien entity from Palestine and from the region…"[6]

Director Of Al-Quds Institute In Syria: The Resistance Prevented Israel From Imposing Itself As A Fait Accompli In The Region

In the debate following Diab's lecture, Khalaf Al-Muftah, the director of the Al-Quds International Institute In Syria, stated that "the discourse on the demise of the occupation is neither a prophecy nor an imaginary fantasy. It is based on data [regarding] the strange way in which this entity emerged in the region and took over it. The Zionists did not manage to bring [all] the world's Jews to this land, nor did they manage to expel its original residents. [The latter] cleaved to their history and heritage and prevented the Zionist enemy from imposing itself as a fait accompli in the Arab region, for [the enemy] faced every kind of resistance: popular, armed, ideological and cultural."[7]


Khalaf Al-Muftah, the director of the Al-Quds International Institute In Syria, speaking at the conference (image: Facebook.com/qii.press, November 30, 2022)

Chair Of The Iranian-Palestinian Friendship Society: The Fearsome Image Israel Managed To Create For Itself Must Be Shattered

Muhammad Al-Buhaisi, chair of the Iranian-Palestinian Friendship Society, said at the conference: "The power of the oppressive entity [Israel] has crumbled, and the sector of the [Israeli] settlers  has lost its faith in the [Israeli] army. What must be done today is to shatter the fearsome [image] Israel [created for itself and] tried to spread in the region. That is the current task of the Palestinian people and of the courageous resistance, along with their partners in the resistance axis. That is the prelude to the promise of the hereafter[8] and to putting the [Zionist] entity on the path to its demise."[9]

 

[1] The Al-Quds International Institute was founded in Beirut in 2001 following a conference on defending Jerusalem and its holy sites attended by hundreds of clerics, intellectuals and leaders from the Arab and Muslim world. Based in Beirut, the institute has branches in several Arab countries, including Syria, Yemen, Iran, Algeria and Qatar. Its board of trustees was headed by the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, who died recently, and one of Al-Qaradhawi's deputies on the board was Iranian cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur, who is considered a co-founder of the Lebanese Hizbullah. The institute was added to the U.S. Treasury's SDN list in 2012, on the grounds that it is controlled by Hamas. Treasury.gov, October 4, 2012.

[2]  See e.g., Al-Thawra (Syria), November 12, 2020; sana.sy, August 18, 2020; alquds-city.com, September 30, 2019.

[3] Facebook.com/qii.press, November 30, 2022.

[4]  Al-Thawra (Syria), December 1, 2022.

[5]  Facebook.com/qii.press, November 30, 2022.

[6]  Al-Thawra (Syria), December 1, 2022.

[7]  Facebook.com/qii.press, November 30, 2022.

[8]  Hamas officials have envisioned a war against Israel called "the Promise of the Hereafter," involving the Palestinians and other Arab countries and organizations, who will together eliminate Israel. The name apparently originates in Quran 17:104: "And We said thereafter unto the Children of Israel, 'Dwell in the land. And when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We shall bring you as a mixed assembly.'" See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9575, "Hamas-Sponsored 'Promise Of The Hereafter' Conference For The Phase Following The Liberation Of Palestine And Israel's 'Disappearance': We Must Differentiate Between Jews Who Should And Should Not Be Killed, And Prevent A Jewish 'Brain Drain' From Palestine," October 4, 2021.

[9] Iranalyoum.com, December 1, 2022.

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