Palestinians run to take cover from tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, May 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Yasser Qudih)
GAZA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The committee to organize the activities to mark the al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day said Thursday that Iran paid 651,000 U.S. dollars to the Palestinian families of the victims in Gaza Strip who were killed in the conflict with Israel.
The Iranian payment was delivered to the families during a conference attended by senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in northern Gaza city on Thursday.
The families that received the money are mainly those whose salaries were cut by the Palestinian Authority (PA) due to the financial difficulties.
The committee said that 1,540 families in the Gaza Strip will receive the money paid by Iran, about 600 dollars for each married person and 200 dollars for each single person.
"We will continue supporting resistance, especially in occupied Palestine," Ali Shamkhani, secretary general of the Iranian National Security Council, told the audience via the video conference.
"We will support resistance regardless of any political pressure or economic sanctions," Shamkhani said, adding "backing and supporting resistance is a legal duty for Iran."
Besides the financial crisis the PA faces due to the Israeli deduction of the Palestinian tax revenue dues and the U.S. sanctions, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also imposed sanctions on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Among the sanctions that Abbas imposed included stopping paying salaries to the families of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members who were killed in the clashes with Israel.
Hamas chief in Gaza Yehya Sinwar vowed that its conflict with Israel won't end until the Israeli occupation disappears.
Sinwar praised the Iranian support to his movement and the Palestinians, adding "without the Iranian support, we wouldn't have been able to keep standing so powerfully."
"Iran stands by our side, when the Arabs neglect us," he said.
He called on the leaders of Arab states to support the Palestinian cause, adding "if you (Arabs) want to enforce your powers and rules, you should adopt the choices of the nations and support Jerusalem."