Hamas officials in Cape Town

A MEDIA worker from the Middle East said the South African government’s move to host Hamas was intriguing, considering that almost all Arab countries have refused to talk to the organisation.

Dr Omar Jayyosi is a copywriter and presenter for Al-Quds TV, in the Middle East. Jayyosi is a guest speaker of the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) as part of a Hamas delegation visit to Cape Town today. He was to speak about the media coverage of the Palestinian war and its impact.

Jayyosi said he was inspired by the movement and the mobilisation of people in favour of Palestinian liberation.

“All of us in the Arab world are curious to know what led the South African government to facilitate and meet Hamas representatives while almost all Arab countries have refused to talk to Hamas,” he said.

Jayyosi said that for years Palestinians had been held captive in their own land. “It is a war on terminologies. For thousands of years our country was known as Palestine,” he said. “I cannot fathom why it is now being called Israel.”

He urged the media to be cautious about how they reported on the war. “Call it Palestine, not Israel. It’s a resistance, not an act of terrorism; it’s not just ‘some Palestine land’.”

Jayyosi said the conflict in Palestine was one of existence and not coexistence. “I implore you to assist us in bringing liberation. Your apartheid came to an end; help us end our apartheid,” he said.

The MJC, meanwhile, had great expectations of the arrival of Hamas in the city today. Hamas was to be hosted at a mass rally by the Western Cape ANC at the Darul Islam Boys Campus in Athlone.

The delegation is headed by Khaled Meshaal, who was to make the keynote address at the rally today.

The delegation arrived in the country on Sunday and met President Jacob Zuma and then members of the MJC.

MJC spokeswoman Nabeweya Malick said at a briefing yesterday: “It is our wish that this historic and long overdue meeting between the two liberation organisations who have battled similar challenges for decades will procure outcomes that will lead to a movement towards peace and justice in Palestine.”

MJC president Maulana Ihsaan Hendricks said: “This is a decisive moment for South Africa, Palestine and Hamas.”

Hendricks said the venue for today’s rally had been changed three times due to security concerns. The rally had originally been scheduled to take place at the Turfhall Sports Complex.

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