Zarif tweets anti-Israel poster, crops out image of Soleimani plastered on al-Aqsa

A tweet by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Jerusalem drew criticism for his showing of only half of the photo posted, cropping out weapons, Hezbollah militants, and an illustrated poster of slain commander Qassem Soleimani plastered on al-Aqsa Mosque.

In his tweet, Zarif said Iran seeks a real solution to the Palestinian issue through a referendum. The tweet accompanied a half-cropped portion of an illustrated artwork of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The artwork was headlined “Palestine will be free” with a subheadline of “The final solution: Resistance until referendum.”

“Disgusting that those whose civilization found a “Final Solution” in gas chambers attack those who seek a real solution at the ballot box, through a REFERENDUM. Why are US and West so afraid of democracy? Palestinians should not have to pay for your crimes, or for your guilt,” Zafeer wrote in his post.

The so-called “Final Solution” term has been historically used to refer to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi plan to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust.

Some Twitter users posted the full picture of the illustrated artwork which was previously designed and posted by Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s website. The full artwork shows armed militants carrying Hezbollah flags, and posters of Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes plastered on a drawing of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

The second part of the picture which was hidden in Zarif’s tweet with symbols of violence contradicts the proposal of Iranian leader Khamenei to conduct a referendum for Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews to determine their fate.