Israeli rulers should be tried as war criminals over the deaths of dozens of Palestinians protesting Monday's controversial move of the US Embassy to holy Quds.
"The killing of the defenseless people of Palestine, including children and women, and the occupation of Palestinian lands has become the main strategy of the Zionists over the 70 years of occupation," Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, said in a statement carried by ISNA on Tuesday.
He urged the international community to condemn the brutal murders and bring Israeli officials to trial as "war criminals" in international courts.
Israeli forces killed more than 50 Palestinians on Monday and injured over 2,400 during protests on the Gaza border against the relocation of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city, in the bloodiest day of the conflict since the 2014 Gaza war, according to AFP.
In 2017, President Donald Trump reversed decades of US policy and recognized Beit-ul-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel, imperiling regional peace and upsetting the Arab world and western allies alike.
"The constant and continued crimes of the Zionists in Palestine is the result of unconditional US support and a treacherous compromise and undignified passivity of some regional governments, who are undoubtedly responsible for the unjustly spilled blood in Occupied Palestine and the pain and suffering of its people," Qasemi said, in an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia.
*** International Institutions
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani told an open session of parliament on Tuesday that Washington is seeking to undermine international institutions and mechanisms.
The US blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday that called for an international investigation into the Gaza killings.
"The United States plans to destroy the international institution of the United Nations, which was created to promote peace in the world, and since there is no alternative mechanism, it is pushing the international security scene toward chaos," IRNA quoted Larijani as saying.
*** A Day of Shame
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday denounced the killing of the Palestinians, saying, "The Israeli regime massacres countless Palestinians in cold blood as they protest in world's largest open prison."
He noted that "Trump celebrates the illegal move of the US Embassy and his Arab collaborators strive to divert attention. A day of great shame," Zarif wrote on his official Twitter account.
Iran is a key backer of the oppressed Palestinians and opposition to Israel and its lawlessness has been a central tenet of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
