Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has condemned Israel for committing genocide in Palestine, saying all the freedom-seeking people of the world strive for the freedom of the occupied territories.

"Today the path to humanity's historic aspiration passes through Palestine," President Ahmadinejad said on Monday. 

The Iranian president added that in all corners of the world, people with "pure hearts and freedom-seeking thoughts" strive for the liberation of Palestine. 

The remarks were made during an address to the members of Asia's first humanitarian aid convoy en route to the besieged Gaza Strip. 

“The method used in the establishment of the Zionist regime [of Israel] and its continued existence is a major insult to humanity dignity," said the president, lamenting what he termed as "real genocide" taking place in Palestine. 

"It is interesting that several Israeli leaders are being awarded Nobel Peace Prizes despite all their crimes committed throughout history," he added. 

"Zionists are not Jewish, nor Christian, nor Muslim, and are bound by no ideals and do not believe in any of the divine regions." 

He went on to stress that the Palestinian issue was neither "a row between Arab and Jewish" communities nor one between Islam and Judaism, but rather a global issue. 

The freedom and liberation of Palestine is a "key issue" in today's world and if all members of the international community come together they can end this crisis, he said. 

The Gaza-bound aid convoy will travel from Iran to Turkey and from there to Syria. It is then scheduled to head to Egypt, from where it will seek to enter the beleaguered strip. 

Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in June 2007, even preventing basic necessities from entering the territory. Tel Aviv went further to launch an all-out onslaught on the coastal sliver in December 2008-January 2009, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians.