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Previous official statements from Hamas on South Africa, and the document circulating this week.
- A supposed statement from Hamas thanking South Africans for their support is rapidly spreading in SA.
- There is no reason to believe it is real – and several reasons to think it is fake.
- Hamas has previously highlighted its solidarity with South Africa, and its official communications channels continue to operate – with no mention of the protests in South Africa.
A supposed message from Hamas to “the people of Nelson Mandela” spread in South Africa on Wednesday night, and rapidly on Thursday morning, mostly via WhatsApp groups.
But it appears to be fake.
Confirmed Hamas spokespeople were not immediately available on Thursday; Israel has vowed to exterminate the organisation, with the implication that all its leaders are targets for assassination.
But official Hamas one-way communication platforms, including its website and Telegram channel, remained active. And none featured any recent mention of South Africa.
In the supposed statement, the organisation is said to “extend our thanks and our hearts” to South Africans for having been “on the streets”. It ends with a call to pressure the government into maintaining its support for Hamas, and quotes as a source of hope “your South African slogan: Amandla! Awethu!”
The message is signed by one Emad Saber of “Hamas International Relations, Doha”.
That name has not been associate with Hamas until it popped up as the “official representative” for Hamas in South Africa on 7 October, in a message published by the Media Review Network, which exists to “dispel the myths and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims”. Its representative was not immediately available for questions on the source of that first statement.
As recently as 1 September, Hamas issued messages to South Africa under the name of Basem Naim, the head of its political and foreign relations department. In that case, it was expressing solidarity with South Africans after a devastating building fire in Johannesburg.
The same channels Hamas used at the time continued to operate throughout Wednesday and Thursday, with no mention of South Africa.
The supposed message to South Africans did not use standard Hamas framing and language, or its typical document format.
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