Sec.-Gen. Of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziad Al-Nakhaleh: Nothing Happened In Gaza Without Soleimani's Direct Orders And Supervision, He Supplied The Rockets We Used To Attack Tel Aviv

Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziad Al-Nakhaleh spoke about IRGC Qods Force commander Qasem Soliemani's role in arming and training the military factions in Gaza on Al-Alam TV (Iran) on January 1, 2021. He said that "nothing happened without his direct orders and supervision." He added that it was Soleimani who had supplied the missiles which were used to attack Tel Aviv. Al-Nakhaleh added that Soleimani had played a "pivotal" role in the decision to attack "the capital of the Zionist entity." Al-Nakhaleh said that thanks to the experience earned under Soleimani's guidance, people in Gaza learned how to manufacture missiles locally.

Ziad Al-Nakhaleh: "With the capabilities at hand today, Gaza can confront Israel for a prolonged war. These expertise did not come from nowhere. They are the result of a great effort by Hajj Qasem [Soleimani] to enable [the Palestinian] fighters to reach that goal.

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"[Soleimani] did not train [the Palestinians] himself, obviously, but he gave instructions to the experts who supervised these matters."

Interviewer: "Were his plans implemented?"

Al-Nakhaleh: "Of course. Nothing happened without his direct orders and supervision. What stage was reached, the results, all these things – he supervised all that. This was in addition to the strategic step of sending missiles and weapons to the Gaza strip. It was almost miraculous. It was very expensive in terms of technology, security, and capabilities..."

Interviewer: "And the logistics..."

Al-Nakhaleh: "But it was accomplished. [Soleimani] himself invested a lot [of effort] into this. He traveled to various countries, made plans, and set up guidelines to deliver these weapons [to the Gaza Strip]. And indeed, these weapons were delivered [to the Gaza Strip]. I can say that the missiles that [Soleimani] delivered to the Gaza Strip were the ones used to attack Tel Aviv. I can say that Hajj Qasem played a pivotal role in the fact that the Palestinians ventured to attack the capital of the Zionist entity. From that point in time, weapons were developed in Palestine, and the Palestinians began to manufacture all the missiles themselves as a result of the experience they gained thanks to the decisions of Hajj Qasem. This is a great and important issue, and without a doubt played a role in strengthening the Palestinian resistance."