Hawzah News Agency (Beirut, Lebanon) - The second meeting of International Union of Resistance Scholars kicked off today in Beirut, Lebanon. Over 700 senior Shia and Sunni scholars from 80 countries are attending the two-day conference that is held on the 100th anniversary of the UK-backed 1917 Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration paved the way for the creation of Israel on Palestinian territories.
Opening the conference, the head of the Resistance Scholars Union, Sheikh Maher Hammoud reiterated that the Israelis believe in the certainty of their collapse more than Muslims and said, "Just as the resistance succeeded in Lebanon and have conquered in Gaza several times so far, all of Israel’s other plots against the Resistance are doomed to failure."
In a message sent to the conference Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized the heavy and unforgettable responsibility of Palestine upon the shoulders of the entire Muslim world and said, "I recommend all individuals, who feel the importance of this great responsibility, to continue different methods of fighting against the usurper Zionist Regime."
Addressing the conference in the Lebanese capital, Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas' political bureau said the Zionist project on the Palestinian territory had no future. Haniyeh stressed that Palestinians based in the West Bank are still standing firm in pursuit of the nation’s cause and would launch anti-Israel uprisings one after another. He added, "The Gaza Strip has also turned into a symbol of resistance against the occupying regime."
Delivering a speech to the conference, Sheikh Abdul Ghani Shamsuddin, president of Ulama Council of Malaysia stressed on pursuing Palestinians’ rights at international legal conventions and stated, "We are here to defend the oppressed people of Palestine."
Dr Muhammad Tawfiq Ramadan al-Bouti, head of the Levant Scholars Union also made some remarks at the first day of the conference in which he stressed that no one is allowed to insult Islamic holy sites and said, "Neither UK, nor USA, nor any other country have the right to decide for Islamic countries."
