Hamas ‘salutes’ Jeremy Corbyn for message of support to Palestinians

Terror group Hamas has thanked Jeremy Corbyn for a message of support for Palestinians.

The group issued a statement to “salute” the Labour leader for his stance and said it had received his message with “great respect and appreciation”.

The move was in response to a message Mr Corbyn sent to a march in support of Palestinians in London on Saturday.

The Hamas statement said: “We have received with great respect and appreciation the solidarity message sent by the British Labor Party Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to the participants in the mass rally.”

The statement added: “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.

“On this occasion we emphasize that no peace plan can succeed at the expense of the rights of the Palestinian people, that the Palestinians will not allow this deal to pass, and that it will be doomed to failure.

“We also call on the current British government to stop supporting the Israeli occupation state and to listen to the voice of wisdom and reason and adopt policies in support of the Palestinian legitimate rights that will lead to stability in this vitally important and highly turbulent region.”

Mr Corbyn’s statement in support of the rally said: “We cannot stand by or stay silent at the continuing denial of rights and justice to the Palestinian people.

“The Labour Party is united in condemning the ongoing human rights abuses by Israeli forces, including the shooting of hundreds of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza – most of them refugees or families of refugees – demanding their rights.”

A Labour spokesman said: “Jeremy has a long and principled record of solidarity with the Palestinian people. That is the right thing to do.”

Jennifer Gerber, Labour Friends of Israel Director said of the message: “Any decent politician would run a mile from the endorsement of an antisemitic terror group which brutally suppresses the Palestinian people and is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent men, women and children.

“The fact that Jeremy Corbyn chooses not to do so says all you need to know about the man and his warped and horrifying world view.”

The Labour leader was previously criticised after he described the Islamist Terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah as “friends”, after having invited them to parliament in 2009.

Before being elected leader, he defended his comments while speaking on Channel4 News in 2015, saying: “I spoke at a meeting in which I said I wanted all people in the Middle East issue to come together, and be able to have a discussion”

“..There were people there from Hezbollah. I said I welcomed our friends from Hezbollah to have a discussion. I wanted Hamas to be part of that debate.”

He insisted that “even the head of Mossad says there has to be talks involving Hamas.. I’ve also had talks with people on the right of Israeli politics.”

When asked why he used the term “friends”, he said: “I used it in a collective way”.

“Does it mean I agree with Hamas and what it does? No. Does it mean I agree with Hezbollah and what it does? No.”

“What it means is, to bring about a peace process, you have to talk to people with whom you may profoundly disagree”