Hawzah News Agency (Iran, Tehran) - “Today, the oppressed people of Palestine more than ever need the support and assistance of Islamic countries,” Ali Larijani said in an address to an extraordinary meeting of the Palestine Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of Islamic Countries.

The gathering was held in Tehran on Monday with the participation of representatives from more than 20 Muslim countries.

Larijani said Muslims condemn the Zionist regime’s crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere as well as the US planned move to relocate its embassy and call for reaction from international bodies against it.

He noted that one of the reasons for holding the meeting was to denounce the Israeli crackdown on Palestinians’ Right of Return peaceful protests.

His comments come as housands of Palestinians on Monday are expected to protest against the planned US embassy relocation to Quds from across the occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip as part of the Great March of Return.

The Great March of Return includes rallies that are part of a weeks-long protest that will culminate on May 15 to mark what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba or "Catastrophe" - a reference to Israel's establishment in 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly removed from Palestine.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed over 50 Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave.

More than 8,500 Palestinians have also been wounded.

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