TEHRAN – Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bakar Karibah on Wednesday condemned Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and called for unity to take concrete action to stop the Zionist regime’s “killing planes.”
“Muslims must stand together in one voice and without hesitation to condemn Gaza’s genocide,” Kalibah said in a public session of the parliament. “Governments in the Islamic world must follow the initiative of their people and adopt practical measures to stop Israeli crime.”
Karibah’s remarks coincided with Unity Week, which marked the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He said the opportunity should remind Muslims of the Prophet’s mission to establish communities based on faith, rationality and compassion. “Unity is not a political tactic, it is a religious and strategic need,” he emphasized. “Today, that clearest expression must be seen in the struggle with the Zionist regime, the greatest evil of our time.”
The call for unity comes as new controversy broke out over the report of Gaza’s postwar blueprint, prepared during the Trump administration.
According to the Washington Post, the 38-page proposal of Gaza Reconfiguration, Economic Acceleration and Transformation (Great) Trust envisaged to eliminate more than 2 million people in Gaza and convert war-torn enclaves into hubs of luxury resorts and high-tech industries.
The plan was created with opinions from Israeli businessmen and US consultants, and during a decade-long restructuring phase, it outlined options for “voluntary” departures abroad or confinement in so-called safe zones within Gaza. Incentives to leave include redemptive cash payments for new “AI-powered Smart City” apartments, temporary housing, food support and “tokens” for Digital Land.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken about Gaza as the main real estate in the “Middle Eastern Riviera,” a vision shared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Critics say the plan amounts to a continuation of Israel’s long-term policy of forfeiture, which will result in Palestinians stripping their homelands and treating the ruins of Gaza as investment opportunities.
Since October 2023, Israel’s War of Gaza has killed more than 63,000 Palestinians (mostly women and children) and expelled hundreds of thousands of people. Nearly half a million people face catastrophic hunger, but UN estimates say 90% of the homes have been destroyed. International legal experts describe the campaign as a form of collective punishment and genocide.
For many, the plan recalls the displacement in 1948, Nakbah and the 1967 displacement in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven out of their homes. Gaza Resistance Groups claim that Palestine’s existence can be protected against what they describe as an elimination project disguised as a reconstruction.
Apart from Hezbollah in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, other countries in the region have so far refrained from taking practical actions to stop Israel.