South African leaders met Hamas militants on official visits to their country after the deadly October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
A Hamas delegation visited South Africa in December, at a time when even Arab countries were distancing themselves from the terrorist group, which killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped about 250 during the atrocity.
Israeli sources said the visit by Hamas leaders shows the ‘cosy’ relationship South Africa has had with the group over the years, which the sources say helps to explain why the ANC-led government decided to accuse Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice last week.
The Israeli government has rejected the claim, and has instead accused South Africa of becoming the ‘legal arm of Hamas’.
Israeli minister Amichai Chikli has claimed that among the sitting South African delegation at the ICJ hearings at the Hague was Shawan Jabarin, a ‘peace activist’ accused of having ties with the terrorist group, the Popular Front For The Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Mr Chikli posted on X, formerly Twitter : ‘Tell me who stands behind you and I will tell you who you are: spotted at the bench of South Africa at ICJ, Shawan Jabarin’
Israeli minister Amichai Chikli has claimed that among the sitting South African delegation at the ICJ hearings at the Hague was Shawan Jabarin, a ‘peace activist’ accused of having ties with the terrorist group
Israel accuses the PFLP of taking part in the Hamas-led attacks.
Mr Chikli posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Tell me who stands behind you and I will tell you who you are: spotted at the bench of South Africa at ICJ, Shawan Jabarin.’
Israeli sources have criticised South Africa for allowing Hamas leaders to visit their country after the October 7 attack.
Basem Naim, a leader in Hamas’s political office, led the December delegation to South Africa, which included the group’s representative in Iran, Ali Al-Qaddumi.
The group visited the South African Parliament and African National Congress politicians, as well as holding a press conference in memory of the country’s former president, Nelson Mandela.
South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, spoke to Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, days after the October 7 attack
They also met Mandla Mandela, Mandela’s grandson, at a ceremony held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of the South African government.
It also emerged that South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, spoke to Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, days after the October 7 attack.
The foreign ministry later clarified that the conversation was not intended to show support for Hamas, but to reaffirm the government’s solidarity with the Palestinian people.
A statement from the ministry read: ‘Minister Pandor and the Hamas leader [Haniyeh] discussed how to get the necessary humanitarian aid to Gaza and other parts of the Palestinian territories.’
The South African government’s apparent support for Hamas has divided both politicians and the public, as two victims of the October 7 attacks were Jews who were South African nationals.