Reactions In Afghanistan To Hamas Attack In Israel – Afghan Taliban's Head Of Hajj And Religious Affairs In Kandahar: 'May Allah Cause All Of Israel To Perish With Thunderbolts; They Are A Very Bad Nation; They Are Jews'; Gulbuddin Hekmatyar: 'Just As The U.S., Britain, And NATO Were Defeated In Afghanistan, This Experience Will Repeat In Palestine'

The initial reaction in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to the Hamas attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023, can be seen in the public expression of happiness over Israeli casualties, support for the mujahideen of Palestine, condemnation of Israel, and calls for liberation of Bait Al-Maqdis (i.e., Jerusalem), among others.

"The Islamic Emirate Considers Every Kind Of Defense And Resistance Of The People Of Palestine For The Freedom Of The Land And The Holy Places As Their Legitimate Right"

According to a Dari-language media report, Afghans gathered in front of a large photo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in a square in Kabul, expressing happiness over the Hamas attacks, and distributing sweets to celebrate the victory in inflicting "extensive casualties and damages to the occupation forces."[1] A pro-Afghan Taliban account on X (formerly Twitter) published a video in which people of the fifth district of Kabul Province can be seen distributing candies and celebrating "the Hamas attacks on the nest of the Israeli occupation" and expressing support for Palestinians.[2]

On the day Hamas launched the attacks into Israel, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) issued a statement declaring its support for "every kind of defense and resistance" by the Palestinians. In a Dari-language statement, the IEA wrote: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is carefully monitoring the recent events in Gaza Strip, and considers the occurrence of such incidents to be the result of Israeli Zionists trampling the rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation, and repeated insults and disrespect to Muslim holy places."[3]

It continued: "The Islamic Emirate considers every kind of defense and resistance of the people of Palestine for the freedom of the land and the holy places as their legitimate right. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan declares its support for the legitimate, historical, and legal right of the Palestinian people to have an independent state in the historical land of the Palestinians and calls on the Islamic countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the international community, and especially the influential countries in the region, to prevent the violence of the Israeli occupying forces against the innocent people of Palestine, and to solve the Palestinian issue on the basis of granting the legitimate rights of the Palestinians."[4]

Afghan Taliban's Head of Hajj and Religious Affairs Sheikh Mawlawi Abdul Baseer Faiz: "May Allah cause all of Israel to perish with thunderbolts; they are a very bad nation; they are Jews."

"May Allah Cause All Of Israel To Perish With Thunderbolts; They Are A Very Bad Nation; They Are Jews"

On October 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas attack, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman of Afghan Taliban's Foreign Ministry, tweeted in the Pashtu language: "We are deeply concerned about the recent decision of the Zionist regime to deprive the people in the besieged Gaza Strip of essential resources such as electricity, food, and water supply. This action is unacceptable, and a contravention of all international laws and conventions."[5]

Abdul Qahar Balkhi's tweet continued: "We urge all countries and leading international organizations, especially the United Nations, to fulfill their responsibility in preventing the apartheid Israeli regime from collectively punishing the persecuted Palestinian people due to the failures of Israeli security forces."[6]

On October 8, 2023, a short Pashtu-language audio message of Afghan Taliban's Head of Hajj and Religious Affairs in Kandahar province, Sheikh Mawlawi Abdul Baseer Faiz, was shared on X (formerly Twitter). Sheikh Mawlawi Abdul Baseer Faiz says in the message: "May Allah help the mujahideen of Palestine to conquer Jerusalem (Bayt Al-Maqdis). May Allah help us reach Palestine. May Allah free Jerusalem from this bloodthirsty usurper occupying Israel as soon as possible. May Allah cause all of Israel to perish with thunderbolts; they are a very bad nation; they are Jews. May Allah help these mujahideen."[7]

On October 9, 2023, Jawad Sargar, a prominent Afghan Taliban member, posted several tweets in the Pashtu language, saying that the war of Palestine is war between Islam and unbelief, and Muslim leaders must support the Palestinian nation.[8] The Palestinian Muslim nation must invite Muslim youths of the Islamic world and give them a place in their land to fight against Israel, wrote Jawad Sargar, a prominent Taliban analyst who served as one of the Taliban military officials who fought against the former government of Afghanistan. He also had helped prepare suicide attacks against the U.S. and NATO forces.[9]

A screenshot of the Afghan Taliban statement.

"The Palestinian People Have The Right To Exercise Their Legitimate Right To Defend Their Human Existence In Order To End The Occupation And Expel The Occupiers From Their Land"

Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, who served as the first Afghan Taliban regime's ambassador to Pakistan from 2000-2001, said in a series of Pashtu-language tweets: "We are supporters of peace, but the war between Palestine and Israel is a test given by Allah for Islamic countries." Another tweet read: "The West should not have supported its friend with financial, military, and political positions, but the Islamic world still cannot adopt a positive stance; supporting the oppressed is the moral duty of all and should be supported."[10]

On October 8, in a series of Dari-language posts, former mujahideen commander and leader of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said that the people of Palestine will be the winners in this war which is fueled by the West. He added that the U.S. and Britain bear all the responsibility for the bloodshed in the region.[11] Hekmatyar also said that just as the U.S., Britain, and NATO were defeated in Afghanistan, their defeat will be repeated in Palestine.[12]

The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan is one of the resistance groups fighting and advocating against the Taliban regime. On October 8, 2023, the council issued a statement about the Hamas attack. It read: "According to the resolutions of the United Nations, the continued occupation of Israel and violation of the rights of the Muslim people of Palestine could not be justified in any way as per the legal order of the international system. And the Palestinian people have the right to exercise their legitimate right to defend their human existence in order to end the occupation and expel the occupiers from their land."[13]

The statement, expressing support for the people of Palestine, continues: "The Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, which was launched by the Palestinian forces against the Israeli occupation, is the result of more than half a century of horrible crimes against Palestine."[14]

Former mujahideen commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

"The Usurper State Of Israel Is A Black Mark On The White Forehead Of The Muslim Nation"

Almirsaad Media – one of several new media entities that have come up in recent years in support of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – published a Pashtu-language article which criticized  Islamic countries for their failure to stand up to Israel. It says: "The usurper state of Israel is a black mark on the white forehead of the Muslim nation. Their wickedness has not only reached the neighboring Muslim countries, but also distant countries. They want to promote war in the Islamic world by any possible means and weaken it."[15]

The article observes: "The cowardly rulers of Muslim countries are also asking for good relations with Israel, while Israel is attacking the oppressed Palestinians every day, demolishing their lands and destroying their houses."[16] The article – commenting on media reports that Ahmad Massoud has called for Israel's help to fight the Taliban, though Massoud has denied such reports – says: "Israel also has its closest allies among Muslims, and its best allies in the Gulf countries are ISIS. Its good supporters in Afghanistan are the family of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Years ago, Ahmad Shah Massoud had strong ties with them, and the Jews used to have meetings with him."[17]

On October 8, 2023, a pro-Afghan Taliban channel on YouTube shared a Dari-language video of Afghan Islamic scholar Mawlawi Sibghatullah Waseel, who is a teacher at a madrassa in Kabul and also works in the Ministry of Education of the Islamic Emirate. In the video, Mawlawi Sibghatullah Waseel is speaking in Arabic, admiring the Palestinian attack on Israel.[18] Expressing support for the attack in Israel, he says the Afghan nation and Ulema (Islamic religious scholars) are with Palestinian nation.[19]

Sayyed Esa Hosseini Mazari, a leading Afghan Shi'ite religious scholar, published a tweet in which he expressed readiness for "our presence beside the Palestinian revolutionary fighters." Mazari's tweets in the Dari language read: "We have supported the beginning of the unprecedented and brave offensive movement of the Palestinian people, which has been carried out in the direction of the liberation of occupied Jerusalem, and crushing the Zionist occupation. Thus, we declare our readiness for our presence beside Palestinian revolutionary fighters."[20]