Hamas 'salutes' Jeremy Corbyn for Palestine solidarity on Nakba Day

Corbyn has previously come under fire for allegedly calling Hamas his "friends".

The military wing of Hamas, which controls the besieged Gaza Strip, is classified as a terrorist organisation by the UK.

The Labour Party leader had sent a message of support to a Nakba Day march held in support of Palestinians in London last weekend.

"We have received with great respect and appreciation the solidarity message sent by the British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to the participants in the mass rally," Hamas said in a statement according to The Independent.

Corbyn was not present at the London march to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe", when 700,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes during the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948.

His statement, however, was read out to a large crowd.

"We cannot stand by or stay silent at the continuing denial of rights and justice to the Palestinian people," the Labour leader said.

"The Labour Party is united in condemning the ongoing human rights abuses by Israeli forces, including the shooting of hundreds of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza - most of them refugees or families of refugees - demanding their rights."

Ahed Tamimi, an 18-year-old who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance after she was jailed for slapping an Israeli soldier, joined the march with her father Bassem Tamimi, a grassroots activist in the village of Nabi Saleh.

Hamas also "saluted" Corbyn for his opposition to US President Donald Trump's forthcoming "Deal of the Century" Israel-Palestine peace plan.

"We also salute Mr Jeremy Corbyn for his principled position in rejecting the so-called Trump plan for the Middle East,"  the organisation said.

Although details of the plan remain secret, its broad outlines have gradually emerged through a series of leaks.

Expected to be released next month, the plan will reportedly grant an overwhelming number of concessions to Israel.

"If President Trump's Middle East plan is, as expected, an attempt to bury the Palestinians' right to a viable state alongside Israel, we will call on our government and the international community to reject it decisively," Corbyn said on Sunday.

"No peace plan can succeed at the expense of the rights of the Palestinian people."

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