Palestine’s Islamic Jihad movement was founded to fight the Israeli occupation only, it said in an official statement on Wednesday.
The statement came in response to remarks by an Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) official who said the Palestinian resistance is present to defend Iran.
The group affirmed in press statements its alliance with Tehran to confront the “Zionist entity and its occupation of Palestine.” It pointed out that all the resistance forces, including Iran, are objectively united in one front against the Zionist enemy and its allies.
The IRGC official, Gholam Ali Rashid, had earlier stated that Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force, announced three months before his death that he had organized six armies outside Iranian territory.
The armies “have a mission to defend Tehran against any attack,” he claimed.
He also said that these armies include the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas and Jihad movements, regime forces in Syria, the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces and the Houthi militia in Yemen, stressing that they represent a deterrent force for Iran.
Iran provides financial support to the Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other armed factions in Palestine, and the Palestinian Authority says this support boosts the division.
