Tallal Etrisi, a Lebanese university professor and Middle East expert, told Tasnim on Wednesday that the West is now hatching a plot to foment civil war and sectarian strife among Muslims in the region to draw attention away from occupation of Palestinian territories by the Zionist regime of Israel.
Pointing to the ongoing crises in Syria and Egypt, Etrisi underlined the necessity for mass participation of Muslims in rallies on the International Quds Day, saying, “The regional countries are grappling with their internal problems, particularly countries like Syria and Egypt which are located in the neighborhood of Palestine and al-Quds.”
“I believe that we should hold the (International) Quds Day more magnificently than before, to put emphasis on the point that the basic problem in the region is occupation of al-Quds and existence of the Zionist enemy,” the Lebanese expert added.
The International Quds Day is an annual event during which demonstrators express their solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposition to the Zionism as well as Israel's control of al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The day was first suggested by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in August 1979.