"Remember Quds" rallies held in Azerbaijan

Turan news agency says that about 500 people took part in the Nardaran rally. Banners with such slogans as "Quds belongs to Palestine,” "Death to Israel!” "Death to masons” were raised during the rally. The participants were going to burn the flags of Israel, Armenia, the US and the UK, as well as pass an anti-West resolution. 

The deputy chairman of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (AIP), Akif Heydarli, told Turan that 72 people – including four women and Heydarli himself – were detained during the Quds Day Islamist rally in front of the Israeli embassy in Baku on 10 July 2015. 

"Despite the police cordon in all the roads around the embassy and the traffic restriction in the street to the diplomatic mission, we were able to reach the embassy. We voiced our protest and consider that the action was a success,” the news portal Caucasian Knot cites Heydarli as saying. 

The portal also reminds that Quds Day rallies have been organized in Azerbaijan in the past years, too. On 25 July 2014, upon the AIP’s initiative the believers gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in Baku to express their protest against the Israeli army’s military actions in Gaza Strip. The police dispersed the demonstration and detained many of its participants. On 2 August 2013, about 50 people took part in international Quds Day protest in Baku, and the police dispersed them 10 minutes after it began. The police stopped similar protests in front of the Israel embassy in August of 2011 and 2012, as well. 

The Huffington Post cites the statistics published by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, according to which there are currently 173,000 Jews living in Turkey, 10,100 in Iran, and 8800 in the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

On 10 July 2015, activists of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan held a rally in front of the Israeli embassy dedicated to the actions of solidarity with the Palestinians, "Remember Quds!” (Jerusalem). Quds Day is traditionally observed by the Islamists all over the world on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan to demand Jerusalem’s liberation of occupation. This is the initiative of the Iranian Islamic Revolution leader, Imam Khomeini.