Zarif lauds Palestinian resistance forces for imposing ceasefire terms on Israel

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has lauded the Palestinian nation and its resistance forces for forcing Israel to submit to its ceasefire terms after Israel launched a two-day assault on the Gaza Strip last week.

The Iranian foreign minister made the comments while speaking with Leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh on Sunday.

Zarif also decried Tel Aviv's aggression against Palestinians, specifically in Gaza.

Last Tuesday, Israel launched an assault on Gaza after assassinating senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata.

At least 34 Palestinians, including eight children and three women, were killed while another 110 were also injured as a result of the ensuing Israeli attacks.

Palestinian resistance forces responded by firing more than 450 rockets into Israel, effectively paralyzing Tel Aviv and many other vast parts of Israel.

The fighting came to a halt on Thursday after Islamic Jihad announced that Israel had submitted to its ceasefire conditions.

Tel Aviv has since violated the truce by carrying a number of airstrikes on the embattled enclave.

Netanyahu warns of 'unprecedented emergency'

The latest flare-up in Gaza comes as many observers have suggested that Tel Aviv's short-lived attack on Gaza may have been intentionally timed to serve Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political interests.

Pundits believe that Netanyahu may have sought to not only boost his popularity by adopting a tough tone against resistance groups in Gaza, but also torpedo any chance of a minority government being formed between his political rival Benny Gantz and the mainly Arab Joint List alliance.

The speculations come as Netanyahu's future tenure as prime minster is uncertain as he has not been able to form a majority government following Israel's September 17 election. His political rival, Benny Gantz, has until Wednesday to form a coalition government.

An alliance between Gantz and the Arab-dominated Joint List would effectively allow Gantz to form a government coalition without Netanyahu, terminating his 10-year-rule over the Israeli regime.

Speaking on Sunday, the Israeli prime minster spoke of an "unprecedented emergency" and a "historic danger to Israel's security" in reference to the probable formation of such an alliance between Gantz and the Joint List.

He said that such a government would "rely on supporters of Islamic Jihad and Hamas," in an apparent jab at Arab lawmakers in the Joint List.

Gantz responded to Netanyahu's remarks shortly after.

"Netanyahu, I see you've used the term 'emergency' because there is a chance that your rule will be over soon," he said.