Fatah: Iran Has Not Offered a Dime to the Palestinian People

The Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Saturday that the current Iranian government and previous ones have never presented a “dime” to the Palestinian people.

He made his remarks in wake of recent anti-government protests in Tehran in which demonstrators chanted “death to Palestine.” They also condemned all countries that receive Iranian support at the expense of their own interests.

Fatah condemned the “cheap” chants, asking: “Do the Iranian believe that their governments have ever offered a dime to the Palestinian people? This is absolutely false.”

Fatah official spokesman Usama al-Qawasimi said in a statement: “It is shameful for some to believe that the economic crisis in Iran was caused by support to the Palestinian people. Iran has never presented anything to the Palestinians even though Fatah and the Palestinian Liberation Organization supported the 1979 Kohmeini revolution.”

“We have never insulted them by words or actions and we have never meddled in their internal affairs,” he stressed.

“We have never heard of Iran contributing to the construction of a school, university or hospital. We have never seen any development project,” he continued.

The Iranians are very wrong in believing that Tehran’s support for a party means that it supports the Palestinian people, he added.

Qawasimi stated: “Iran has never supported the Palestinian people through its backing for Hamas.”

Moreover, he underlined Fatah and the Palestinian people’s “respect and appreciation” for the Iranian people, condemning the “misleading voices” that do not represent the Iranians, “who support the rights of Palestinians.”

Iranians took to the streets of the capital Tehran earlier this week to protest their country’s poor economic situation.

Videos posted on social media showed them chanting against Palestine, as well as the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. They called on the authorities to “leave Syria and think of us.” They also chanted: “We do not want the Ayatollah” and “death to the dictator.”

In addition, they condemned the authorities for providing financial support for the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad movements, Lebanon’s “Hezbollah”, Yemen’s Houthi militias, Iraqi Shiite groups and the Syrian regime.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah have long rejected Iranian support for any Palestinian faction, saying it would be aimed at stoking division.

Tehran’s support for Hamas has led to major tensions between the PA and Iran in the past.

In March 2009, Abbas made the first open demand to Iran to cease its meddling in Palestinian affairs, accusing it of deepening divisions.

Iran must instead turn its attention to its own issues, he added.