Hamas official denies he welcomed UK Labour leader’s support

An endorsement from terror group Hamas was likely the last thing British Labour party head Jeremy Corbyn wanted as he tried to steer through charges that criticism of Israel has strayed into anti-Semitism in some corners of the party.

But that was reportedly what he got Tuesday, as a senior official from the Palestinian organization was said to praise Corbyn for refusing to distance himself from the group, calling it a “painful hit to the Zionist enemy.”

Taher A-Nunu was quoted by by the conservative Breitbart Jerusalem website as saying Corbyn’s refusal to denounce Hamas had added to the boycott campaign against Israel and sent a message to other Western countries that the Palestinian group sworn to Israel’s destruction is not a terrorist organization.

However, A-Nunu later told the Middle East Eye website that he did not speak to Breitbart.

“I did not make any statements on this issue at all,” Nunu said. “I call on all of the media to delete my quotes because they are not true. I didn’t speak to anyone – not to local or international media. No one called me at all,” he said according to the site.

A-Nunu’s reported comments came as the Labour party suspended a string of members for anti-Semitic postings on social media. But as Labour attempted to push back against efforts to label it anti-Semitic, it also came under fire for Corbyn’s past contacts with Hamas and Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah.

“We welcome the declaration of the Labour Chairman and see his engagement as a very important statement that is also a painful hit that the Zionist enemy received,” A-Nunu said, according to Breitbart. “It comes as part of the international boycott campaign that the enemy (Israel) is suffering from. This campaign is succeeding on both the economic and political levels and it comes at a moment that the enemy is facing difficulties in justifying its crimes against the Palestinian people.”

A-Nunu, described by Breitbart Jerusalem as heading the Hamas media section, was said to have added that Corbyn’s attitude towards Hamas showed “that freedom movements are still appreciated and respected.”

A-Nunu also reportedly claimed that Hamas officials recently met with unnamed Western leaders “who expressed their understanding about Hamas’s positions and Hamas’s resistance to the occupation, especially in the 1967 borders.”

On Sunday, Corbyn rebuffed a call from Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev to recant his friendship with Hamas and Hezbollah, the military wings of which have both been recognized as terror organizations by Britain.

According to the Telegrpah, a spokesman for the Labour leader issued a statement saying “Jeremy Corbyn has been a longstanding supporter of Palestinian rights and the pursuit of peace and justice in the Middle East through dialogue and negotiation.”

“Simply talking to people who agree with you won’t help achieve justice or peace,” the statement asserted.

The call for him to denounce Hamas and Hezbollah was made as Labour attempted to scrub officials who have made anti-Semitic from within the party, suspending several officials, among them former London mayor and close Corbyn ally Ken Livingstone, who said Thursday that Hitler supported Zionism before he “went mad and ended up killing 6 million Jews.”

Livingstone’s comments were made as he attempted to defend MP Naz Shah, who was suspended for a Facebook post calling for Israel’s relocation.

On Monday, Labour suspended three more low level officials. According to The Telegraph the party has quietly suspended some 50 members over the past two months for anti-Semitic or racist comments.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.