Head of Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh has sent a letter to Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat. 

In the letter, the Hamas chief said: “We, in the Hamas movement, are pleased to send our warmest regards and express our gratitude for the African Union Commission’s stances in support of the Palestinians’ rights to liberation and independence.”

The top Hamas official wished the esteemed Chairman and commissioners success in serving all African peoples and fulfilling their aspirations at all levels. 

In his letter, Haniyeh noted that the Palestinian people followed, with shock and regret, the African Union Commission’s decision to grant the Israeli occupation an observer status, noting that the Commission is a long-standing organization defending the African people’s rights to self-determination for long years. 

The organization has also opposed the Israeli terrorism against the Palestinian people, land, Christian and Islamic holy places for more than 70 years, Haniyeh continued. 

Hamas chief expressed the movement's denunciation and protest against this decision, which contradicts all the values and principles of the African Union Commission, considering it a “strong blow” to the Palestinian people who fight against the longest and most dangerous occupation in modern history to gain freedom and obtain legitimate rights.

Haniyeh hoped that the African Union Commission intensify communication with friendly countries and international and regional organizations, at the political, diplomatic, and legal levels, in order to crystallize an international position that renews and strengthens the demand for legitimate national rights, exercises pressure on the occupation government to stop the colonial settlement project and annexation of Palestinian lands, exposes the occupation crimes and aggression, criminalizes the Israeli violations and attacks, and pushes for holding the Israeli occupation leaders accountable before the International Criminal Court.

Haniyeh pointed out that the occupation exploits this membership status in the Union as a cover to perpetuate its existence, implement its colonial schemes, continue its abhorrent occupation of Palestine, and accelerate its aggression against the Palestinian people.

Noting that such a position is not in line with the historical positions of the African Union Commission in support of the Palestinian cause, Haniyeh urged the Chairman of the organization to backtrack on this “shocking move”. 

He also called for more practical steps to delegitimize and criminalize normalization with the Israeli occupation, dubbing it as an “unforgettable fault” and a “treacherous stab in the back of all Arab, Islamic, and African countries, along with the free people of the World, especially in light of the ongoing Israeli terrorism and repeated offensives against Palestinians. 

The top Hamas official concluded his letter by confirming that the Palestinian people aspire for more serious positions and stances to be taken by the world’s countries and international organizations against the Israeli occupation’s colonial projects and terrorist practices until the liberation of the Palestinian land, achieve the return of the Palestinian refugees and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.