Hamas Delegation Takes Centre Stage at Palestine Solidarity Conference in South Africa                

A senior delegation representing the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is currently in Johannesburg, South Africa, to participate in the Fifth Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine.

The conference, which is being held from 3-5 December, is organised by the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine and the Royal House of Mandela (RHoM), and brings together Palestinians from several different political and resistance factions, international solidarity activists and networks, veterans of the Palestinian and South African struggles, members of parliament and the diplomatic corps, representatives of faith organisations, and anti-Zionist Jewish groups from South Africa and abroad.

Other Palestinian formations, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the PLO, as well as the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah are also in attendance.

Hamas Politburo member Dr. Bassem Naim addressed delegates on Sunday in the conference opening session as the voice of 20,000 Palestinians martyred by Israeli bombs and bullets, and 2.3 million suffering people in Gaza.

“I am filled with pride and glory to be a son of the heroic Gaza City, which has openly declared its willingness to sacrifice and for martyrdom for our sincere national objectives, and, indeed, for the salvation of humanity from the brutal Zionist entity,” Dr. Naim said.

He added that the current situation in Gaza has two faces. First, there is the face of courage – the legendary resilience of the Palestinian people, steadfast in their determination to sacrifice and stick to their land and homeland. Supporting the people’s strong desire for justice and liberation are the Palestinian fighters, bravely facing the Zionist-American military machine and inflicting significant losses upon them. The other face is the serious humanitarian disaster violently imposed on Gaza by the occupation enemy over the past 57 days.

Dr. Naim also explained that the 7 October operation remains a pivotal and distinctive milestone in the history of the Palestinian struggle against the occupation, and carries the potential for its defeat. “It’s a testament that a besieged people with limited resources managed to defeat a regional state with a massive army, huge intelligence-gathering capacity, and some of the most sophisticated military and surveillance technology in the world,” he said.

“Today, we are here in South Africa, the country of the iconic leader and global advocate for justice, Nelson Mandela. We recall, with determination, his words: ‘Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.’ We, as Palestinians, view South Africa as a shining example of oppressed peoples succeeding against oppression. It serves as a profound inspiration for us to believe in our ability to defeat the Zionist enemy and demolish its racist political project,” said Dr. Naim.

The Fifth Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine commemorates the tenth anniversary of the death of Mandela and the launch of the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine. The conference theme is “Nelson Mandela and Palestine: Confronting Racism till Liberation”.

The conference was opened by Mandela’s grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, who saluted all the formations of the resistance in Gaza and all of Occupied Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

Delegates are discussing practical mechanisms and ways to confront the crimes of the occupation; how to strengthen international solidarity with the Palestinian people after Al-Aqsa Flood and the aggression against Gaza; the responsibility of international law and human rights bodies; media and social media restrictions on Palestinian content; mechanisms for activating global media; and lessons from the South African liberation struggle.

Accompanying Dr. Naim is Dr. Khaled Qaddoumi of Hamas’ international relations department, and the movement’s director for East, Central and Southern Africa, Emad Saber.

The Hamas delegation is also meeting representatives of South African political parties, civil society groups and the Palestine solidarity movement to brief them about Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, and to hear South African views on the global solidarity movement and the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle in general.

Members of the Hamas delegation are available for interviews with media. To schedule an interview, contact +27 (81) 887 1727

Dr. Bassem Naim’s full address to the Fifth Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine in Johannesburg is available upon request.

Issued by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)

4 December 2023

Johannesburg, South Africa