Iran felicitates palestinians on freed prisoners

The Iranian Foreign Ministry welcomed Palestinians' victory in the prisoners swap deal with the Zionist regime of Israel which led to the release of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier."Iran congratulates the Palestinian nation on the release of prisoners held captive by the illegitimate Zionist regime," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said in a weekly press conference. Under the deal between Hamas and Israel, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were being released in exchange for Shalit, who was held captive in Gaza for more than five years. Mehman-Parast said Iran hoped one day to see "the return of the land of Palestine to its true owners." Iran does not recognize Israel, and it supports Palestinian resistance movement Hamas against the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories by the Zionist regime. Earlier yesterday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a telephone conversation with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh congratulated the Palestinians on their victory in the prisoners swap deal with Israel which, he described as, a fruit of strong and continued resistance against the Zionist regime. "No doubt this is a great victory for the Palestinian nation and all Muslims and freedom- and justice-seeking people of the world, and independent nations are as happy as the oppressed Palestinian people over this issue," Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday. He described the prisoners swap deal as a proof for the victory of the Palestinian resistance against the Zionist regime, and said while all the world bullying powers support the regime and Gaza is under the Israeli siege, Resistance broke the awe of the regime and humiliated the Zionists. Haniyeh, for his part, lauded the Iranian nation and government for their support for the Palestinian people, and said the victory which is gained after years of resistance is a great Muslim and national achievement. The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, and Tel Aviv approved an agreement last week that resulted in freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for an Israeli soldier who has been held captive by Hamas for five years in the Gaza Strip. Gilad Shalit's freedom was exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday. The swap follows years of troubled talks that had repeatedly collapsed and descended into violence. Hamas Government's Minister for Prisoners Affairs Atallah Abu Al-Sabah had also said last Wednesday that the swap deal between Israel and the movement was a great victory for the Palestinians as it happened after the Zionists surrendered to the conditions of the resistance movement. "Prisoners swap is a great victory in the battle between the resistance and the occupying regime (Israel)," Abu Al-Sabah told FNA in Ramallah last week. "The resistance gained victory this time as it made the occupiers accept the conditions of the resistance and ink a deal for the prisoners swap, and this issue will boost the Palestinian Resistance's morale and motivation," he continued.