Iran's Khamenei Calls Israel 'Rabid, Predatory Dog' as Jewish State Swears in New Government

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei railed against Israel this weekend as the Jewish state's parliament approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new unity government.

"The Zionist regime & its criminal supporters recognize no bounds in brutality & trampling of moral norms," Khamenei wrote in a series of tweets on Saturday evening local time. "They consider genocide, destruction, the massacre of children & women, & any oppression permissible in #Palestine. This rabid, predatory dog attacks innocent ppl [sic]."

Khamenei also accused the Zionist regime of failing to abide by any treaty. They do not "understand any language but the language of force," he wrote. "Israel has proven it only knows force. It cannot be spoken to except with the Palestinian nation's language of power & the Islamic nation's global power."

He went on to allege that the regime's status in global public opinion is currently "worse than any time in its dark history," before claiming that recent protests across the world show that a "global resistance has been formed against Zionism."

Khamenei blamed Britain for creating Israel, writing that the European nation has "always been a source of evil & catastrophe for the nations in our region."

"They've hurt the lives of nations in ways unparalleled in the world. In a malicious move in Palestine, they displaced a nation & destroyed a country with a history of thousands of years," he added.

The approval of Netanyahu's new Israeli government—ratified by lawmakers through a 73-46 vote—which ended an ongoing political deadlock, has paved the way for the leader to execute his pledge to annex locations in the occupied West Bank, an landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia that contains a population of more than 2 million Palestinians.

Palestinians, who also want the land for their own state, strongly oppose the move, which would further fuel tensions in the Gaza and West Bank territories. They have asked international bodies to impose sanctions to punish Israel if it goes ahead with the plan. "These colonial and expansionist positions confirm once again [Netanyahu's] ideological enmity towards peace," the Palestinian Foreign Minister said in a statement.

Conservative Netanyahu's decision to share power with former centrist rival Benny Gantz will see the foreign prime minister relinquish his power to his new partner after 18 months. Until then, Gantz will serve as Netanyahu's defence minister, as well as his "alternate prime minister."

Netanyahu will go to trial later this month on bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges, which he vehemently denies. Once Gantz takes over, Netanyahu will assume his position as "alternate prime minister," an arrangement that he believes could help him bypass legal rules that require a leader to resign if charged with a criminal offense.

Newsweek reached out to Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment. This story will be updated with any response.