Hamas ‘salutes’ and praises Corbyn
TERRORIST ORGANISATION Hamas said it “salutes” Jeremy Corbyn in a statement thanking the Labour leader for his message of support for the Palestinian people at a mass rally.
In a statement read out during the National Demonstration for Palestine in central London on March 11, Mr Corbyn reportedly said Labour was “united in condemning the ongoing human rights abuses by Israeli forces, including the shooting of hundreds of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza”.
In response, Hamas said it had received Mr Corbyn’s message “with great respect and appreciation”, saying it “reflects an advanced moral and political position worthy of all praise and thanks”.
The group added: “Jeremy Corbyn condemned the Israeli occupation forces shooting at unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza who were calling for their rights to be recognised. He stressed that peace cannot be achieved with the continued illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.
“This message expresses support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights to freedom, independence and selfdetermination. It also condemns the ongoing occupation and its crimes against our people. We also salute Mr Jeremy Corbyn for his principled position in rejecting the so-called Trump Plan for the Middle East, or the ‘Deal of the Century’, if it was based on erasing Palestinian rights, primarily the right to an independent state.”
Hamas, an Islamist group which is the de facto governing authority of Gaza, has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the British government since 2001.
Its message to Mr Corbyn has sparked fury. Jennifer Gerber, director of Labour Friends of Israel, said: “Any decent politician would run a mile from the endorsement of an antisemitic terror group which brutally suppresses the Palestinian people. The fact that Corbyn chooses not to do so says all you need to know about the man and his warped and horrifying world view.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Jeremy has a long and principled record of solidarity with the Palestinian people. That is the right thing to do.”
Any decent politician would run a mile from the endorsement’