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In a statement published on the website of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) has condemned "in strongest terms" the Israeli army's "barbaric" strike in the Jenin refugee camp in northern West Bank of Palestine.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemns in the strongest terms the raid by Israeli regime forces on Jenin City, Palestine, in which nine innocent Palestinians were murdered and dozens wounded. We pray to Allah for the forgiveness of the martyrs and quick recovery for the injured," the IEA Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued in English, Dari, and Pashtu.[1]
"IEA calls on the countries of the world to protect the Islamic and human rights of the oppressed Palestinians by raising their voices and taking practical measures against the crimes against humanity being practiced by the Israeli regime," it said.
In the Pashtu and Dari versions of the statement, the IEA foreign ministry termed the attack "barbaric," while no similar word was used in the English version. The wording of the rest of the statement is the same in the three languages.
Some social media activists in Afghanistan, especially pro-Taliban Twitter handles, expressed disappointment over the killing of Palestinians in the attack, while others celebrated the Palestinian attacker who killed seven people outside a synagogue in Jerusalem.
Rahim Fida – who uses the Twitter handle @Rahim_fida313 – shared a picture of Khairy Alqam, a Palestinian attacker who shot and killed seven people outside a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov settlement in East Jerusalem, and tweeted that that this is "the hero of the Ummah."[2] The letters "313" in this Twitter handle refers to the 313 Muslims who fought under Prophet Muhammad in the Battle of Badr, the first battle fought by the early Muslims.
Another pro-Afghan Taliban Twitter handle tweeted in Pashtu: "Oh young hero of Ummah. As a hero of the ummah, history will keep this deed of yours safe until the Day of Judgment. May your martyrdom and sacred blood result in the unity of this divided Ummah!"[3]
A few weeks ago, a delegation of Palestinian Islamic religious scholars visited Kabul and presented a model of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban government's interior minister and chief of Haqqani Network who is also on the list of FBI's Most Wanted.[4]
Pro-Taliban social media activists appreciated the visit to Afghanistan of the Palestinian Islamic religious scholars and their meeting with Sirajuddin Haqqani.[5]
[1] Twitter, January 27, 2023
[2] Twitter, January 28, 2023.
[3] Twitter, January 29, 2023.
[4] MEMRI JTTM Report, First Photographs Emerge Of Sirajuddin Haqqani, The Afghan Taliban Interior Minister And Haqqani Network Leader Who Is On FBI Most Wanted List, March 7, 2022.
[5] Tolonews.com, accessed January 30, 2023.
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