A televised speech by Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani to a rally in the Gaza Strip was unexpectedly canceled Monday due to technical difficulties, sparking rumors that Israel had interfered with the communications between Iran and Gaza.
Soleimani, who heads the Revolutionary Guards' elite black-ops arm, was scheduled to address a conference held in the Commodore Hotel in Gaza via satellite, but organizers said they were unable to get a clear feed to air the speech.
Hamas military leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar also pulled out of the conference at the last minute, citing security concerns.
Despite the rumors that Israel was involved in disrupting the satellite feed, a senior Palestinian Authority official told Israel Hayom that it was Hamas leaders' who prevented conference organizers from airing Soleimani's speech.
The move stemmed from the fierce objections of various Arab officials – in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states – to any Iranian involvement in the Gaza Strip, and to Hamas' attempts to curry favor with Tehran, the Ramallah official explained.
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon took to Facebook Sunday, ahead of Soleimani's planned speech, sardonically writing, "What Soleimani will be talking about is anybody's guess. Urban development? Increasing the power supply? Water? Help for the needy?
"Iran has invested considerable funds in Hamas, but not in Gaza Strip itself or in is residents. Soleimani doesn't care about the people of Syria and he doesn't care about the Gazans. This is your wakeup call. Wake up before the Gaza Strip turns into a neighborhood of Tehran," Abu Rokon wrote.
Soleimani's speech was supposed to be the highlight of the Revolutionary Guards' annual "Wet Gunpowder Award," a symbolic and dubious prize that, according to organizers, is given to "ridiculous people whose chaffy character is evident to everyone."
The award is a statue of a brain with dark glasses and hearing aids, with a plaque of the Quranic verse: "Unwilling to hear, unwilling to speak, unwilling to see, then, they will not return to the way."
