Hamas hails South Africa, Catalonia for condemning Israeli ‘crimes’

By Nour Abu Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Saturday hailed South Africa and Spain’s Catalonia region over their criticism of Israeli “crimes” against Palestinians.

In a statement, Hamas said it appreciates South African call for the international community “to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and violations against the Palestinian people.”

On Thursday, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor urged the international community to take action to put an end to grievances of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

"As South Africans, we find similarities in our past with the Palestinians,” Pandor said in her speech before a UN conference on the rights of the Palestinians. “It reminds me of the gravesites that we had to carry out under the persecution of the apartheid soldiers.”

Hamas also welcomed a resolution passed by Catalonia's regional parliament condemning Israel’s crime of apartheid against Palestinians.

It termed the resolution as a “victory for the just Palestinian cause" and exposes “the true face of the Israeli occupation and its indifference to international laws.”

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar