WarSclerotic

Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday called on Palestinians to be steadfast in their resistance against U.S. President Donald Trump’s moves in support of Israel on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

In a statement on the eve of “Land Day,” an annual commemoration of the deaths of six Arab Israelis killed by Israeli security forces during demonstrations over government land confiscations in northern Israel in 1976, the foreign ministry said: “The U.S. president’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital … and the occupied Golan Heights as part of the illegitimate Zionist regime … shows clearly that Palestinian resistance and perseverance as symbolized by ‘Land Day’ is the right path.”

In remarks carried by state television, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said accused the U.S. of “breaking international law on a daily basis … and recently in regards to the Golan Heights.” He said, “We should resist this and, God willing, we will come out victorious.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a decree recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. The decision, which was criticized by Arab states, came as Israel gears up for elections on April 9. The U.N. Security Council has declared the annexation “null and void and without international legal effect.”

EPA

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Golan decision would help resolve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians by removing uncertainty. White House advisers Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt have been working on a peace proposal to address the conflict.

Meanwhile, the White House announced that U.S. President Donald Trump will host his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi at the White House on April 9 for talks on strengthening their strategic partnership and working on shared priorities in the Middle East, the White House announced on Friday.

In a statement, the White House said the two leaders would discuss “building on our robust military, economic and counterterrorism cooperation” as well as regional economic integration and “Egypt’s longstanding role as a lynchpin of regional stability.”

The visit by el-Sissi comes at a time of renewed tensions between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in Gaza after a rocket fired from the coastal enclave wounded seven Israelis near Tel Aviv.

Israel responded with airstrikes and warnings from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was prepared to wage a broad military campaign in Gaza if needed.