In recent weeks, Iran has been enhancing a campaign to emphasize the importance of the West Bank and Jenin, in particular, in the ongoing armed struggle against Israel. The topic has been given extensive coverage on the front pages of Iranian media, with senior political, religious, and security forces officials frequently echoing the leader's directive to arm the West Bank and support the Palestinians. In mid-June, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders visited Iran and met Khamenei, Quds Force, and other high-ranking officials.
Meanwhile, Iran persistently presents the ongoing protests against judicial reform as evidence of Israel's vulnerability, weakness, and imminent downfall. This topic receives daily coverage in state-run and social media outlets, featuring quotes from protest leaders in Israeli, international, and social media platforms.
Following the operation in Jenin, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani expressed (July 4) "deep concern" over Israel's operation in Jenin and its refugee camp, adding that the continuous attacks on different areas of the West Bank will fail to restore Israel’s “lost power.” Kan’ani said, "The Palestinians and Zionist settlers no longer believe in Israel's fake greatness. "Kayhan," a Khamenei's mouthpiece, featured a "revenge attack" report in Tel Aviv on its front page.
According to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in a statement to Newsweek, "From Iran's viewpoint, Palestinians can't reclaim their usurped rights from the Israeli government through diplomacy, given that the Israeli government only capitulates to force… Therefore, Iran supports any request for assistance from the Palestinian resistance."
In this regard, Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force (IRGC-QF), asserted (July 5), "We must contemplate our self-defense and extend our defensive efforts to others as much as we can." He further noted, "The children of Palestine have never exhibited such strength and power as they do today, while in contrast, Israelis have never been as (weak) as they are today." Qaani hailed the "Palestinian youth that hit the Israeli forces in Jenin on the mouth" and the growing number of attacks in the West Bank.
IRGC-QF Commander said resistance manifests in political, security, and economic domains. These experiences are valuable lessons that the Islamic Republic, which stands as a shining beacon of resistance in the region, has internalized and "imparted the most magnificent form of battle to the forces of resistance, " As a result, "adversaries become confused, ultimately finding themselves in a state of helplessness wishing to meet their demise."
To support his claim regarding Israel's weakness, IRGC-QF Commander quote ex-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's “A Letter to the Silent Zionist People (majority)” as follows: “In his 26 to 27-page letter, Bennett describes the calamities that this regime is facing in economic, military, ethical, women's issues, and other matters, spanning six to seven pages. In the end, Bennett says, "The Jews had two periods of governance; the first lasted 80 years, and conflicts escalated until the government fell. Then, they formed a government that lasted 75 years, and conflicts escalated until it fell." Bennett wrote this letter in a last attempt to prevent the fall of his government ahead of the November 2022 elections.
The statements made by the Quds Force commander resonate with the updated "prediction" made by the leader in 2015, in which he anticipated that "Israel will not see the next 25 years". Khamenei's updated forecast -"I previously mentioned that they would not witness the next 25 years, yet it appears they are in haste, seeking an earlier end." emerged in response to a series of protests in Israel opposing the proposed judicial reform accompanied by statements similar to those voiced by Naftali Bennett by several former IDF Chiefs of Staff and prime ministers.
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