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The Ambassador of the state of Palestine yesterday participated in the SADC anti-sanctions commemorations in Mutoko and Harare in solidarity with Zimbabwe against illegal sanctions. Dr Tamer Almassri reiterated that the state of Palestine condemns the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Western colonial governments which amounts to collective punishment.
Ambassador Almassri welcomed the support and solidarity messages from all of Zimbabwe’s provinces displayed by the government and people of Zimbabwe towards the Palestinian people who are currently subjected to the Israeli genocide.
“I implore the world to stand with Palestine and condemn the hypocrisy and double standards of some big states that turn a blind eye to war crimes committed by apartheid Israel.
“I also call on the international community to be bold and courageous and assume its responsibilities in stopping Israel’s devastating war on the Gaza Strip, restraining the hand of occupation from the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and exerting the necessary pressure to ensure that all basic humanitarian needs reach our people in the Gaza Strip,” Dr. Almassri said.
Meanwhile, HE Ofra Farhi, the Ambassador of Israel to Zimbabwe; and Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner yesterday held a virtual press conference where they said the war in the Gaza Strip is not against Palestine but terrorism activities by the Hamas insurgents.
HE Farhi said Israel was caught off guard by an attack early this month that was timed to coincide with the Jewish Sabbath and a religious holiday when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli towns, killing 700 Israelis and abducting dozens.
“To date, more than 7840 rockets have been launched into Israel. More than 30 communities in Israel have been infiltrated by the Hamas terrorists. There are additional infiltrations from Lebanon. More than 223 Israelis were abducted with 5240 Israelis injured while 1400 were killed. Our mission is to destroy the Hamas terrorists and defend the people of Israel against terrorism,” said Col Lerner.
He added that Hamas is a radical Islamist movement similar to global terror movements like ISIS that aim to spread Islam by the sword and establish an Islamic theocracy.
“We are the defenders of the Islamic nation … We urge everyone who ever called for Jihad, as Allah commanded – the time has come.” – Khaled Mashaa, former Hamas chief was quoted on October 11, 2023.
Col Lerner said as part of efforts by Israeli Defence Forces to minimize harm to civilians ahead of the planned ground operation by Hamas, the population of the Northern Gaza Strip has been asked to distance itself from the main area of operation.