TEHRAN- Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, has denounced the collective punishment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, saying that it is being carried out in a planned fashion.

In a letter sent to world leaders on Tuesday, Raisi asserted that the Israeli regime has engaged in an “intensive and organized collective punishment” of the Gaza population, one that clearly violated all fundamental principles of international law. 

The Israeli regime has also killed thousands of people in Gaza, many of them women and children, destroyed hospitals, mosques, churches, houses, and other critical infrastructure, and refused to lift a blockade that had left the enclave without food, water, or electricity.

In the letter, Raisi asserted that Palestine, being a nation under occupation, possesses the right to fight back against aggression and occupation using any means necessary, including armed struggle. 

He further stated that the Zionist regime is not authorized by international law to defend itself by killing civilians. 

He urged international leaders to denounce the atrocities carried out by the Israeli regime in Gaza and to put an end to its hostility toward the territory.

According to President Raisi, the international community must pressure the Israeli regime to end its embargo on Gaza so that food, medicine, and fuel could be distributed to the region’s residents.

At the end of the letter, the president expressed hope that the Almighty God may save the oppressed Palestinian nation from occupation, aggression and crimes.

The full text of Raise's letter to world leaders is as follows:

I am writing this letter to Your Excellency in the context of the continuation of the Zionist regime's brutal attack on the Gaza Strip, which has so far led to the martyrdom of more than 10,000 Palestinian civilians, including about 70% children and women, and the wounding of more than 26,000 others, as well as the extensive destruction of hospitals and schools, mosques, churches, houses and vital infrastructures of Gaza.

These crimes are carried out under the pretext of confronting the actions of Palestinian liberation resistance groups, which, according to the established rules of international law, the Palestinian nation, as a nation under occupation, has the inherent right to self-determination and resistance against aggression and Occupation "by resorting to all means, including armed methods" and on the other hand, according to the same rules, the occupying Zionist regime lacks any right to claim it is "legitimate defense".

These heinous crimes, together with the complete siege of the Gaza Strip and cutting off the flow of electricity, water, food and fuel to that area, are practically a severe and systematic collective punishment that substantively violates all the fundamental principles of international law, especially international humanitarian law and International human rights, and there is no doubt that these crimes are clear examples of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The extent, intensity and cruelty of committing these crimes, and the fact that they have been perpetrated within only one month, especially the brutal killing of several thousands of innocent children, hurt the heart of every free person, and underscore the urgency and necessity of fulfilling the humanitarian duties of all the freedom-loving governments of the world to help the oppressed people of Palestine and the immediate cessation of the crimes of the Zionist regime.

In this regard, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the humanitarian and legal duty of regional and international organizations and all freedom-loving governments requires them to take effective measures to immediately and completely stop the military attacks against the residents of Gaza.

In the same vein, and in addition to strongly condemning the unbridled crimes committed by the Zionists against the oppressed Palestinian nation and resolutely supporting the realization of all the inherent rights of the Palestinian nation, including the right to self-determination, resistance to aggression and occupation, it is necessary and incumbent upon all of us to engage in efforts with the aim to return all Palestinian refugees to their land of fathers and their ancestors and the formation of a Palestinian state in the entire Palestinian territories with Al-Quds Sharif as its capital, to request the relevant international forums to force the occupying regime to immediately stop all its attacks on the Gaza strip and all its illegal actions, including Jewish settlements and killing and arresting of Palestinians in other occupied areas of Palestine; to refrain from any action to forcibly relocate Palestinians inside or outside of Palestine; to push for immediate, complete and unconditional lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip; to provide the ground for immediate, unhindered, widespread and sufficient humanitarian aid in Gaza, especially food, medicine and fuel; to activate pressure levers against the Zionist regime, including cutting off political and economic relations and embargoing its goods; to try to end the impunity of crimes against Palestinians through an effective and serious effort to provide a practical basis for the pursuit, trial and punishment of the leaders, perpetrators and supporters of the crimes of the occupying regime in Palestine and to immediately and extensively help to start the process of rebuilding the ruins of the Gaza Strip.

I pray to the Almighty for the health and well-being of your Excellency and the liberation of the oppressed Palestinian nation from the occupation, oppression, aggression and crimes of the Zionist regime.