News
Activist who led march alongside Corbyn glorified October 7 terror
Ziad El Aloul hailed the attack as the beginning of a 'bright era' for Palestine
November 14, 2023 12:51
Ziad El Aloul hailed the attack as the beginning of a 'bright era' for Palestine
November 14, 2023 12:51A leading Palestinian activist who has led anti-Israel marches in London glorified Hamas's attacks that saw the slaughter of Israeli civilians.
Ziad El Aloul hailed the October 7 invasion - that saw hundreds of Israeli civilians murdered, tortured and raped - as a "moment of glory" and the beginning of a "bright era" for Palestine.
The campaigner has served as a director of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, one of the six organisations behind the string of anti-Israel demonstrations that have ground central London to a halt over the last month.
On October 21, El Aloul appeared alongside Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell at the front of a 100,000 person rally.
On X/Twitter on October 7, he wrote on X/Twitter: "All of our people are happy and express their joy, except for some of the weak and cowardly among our people who stand in confusion about their affairs in a moment of glory."
The same day, he published a photo of an Israeli military vehicle that had been stolen by Palestinians during Hamas's attack, writing: "Gaza pride."
El Aloul later added: "Greetings to Gaza. Greetings men. Salute to the heroes who defend the sacred. God is great, and praise be to God."
The next day on Facebook, he wrote: "The 7th of October, 2023. Destroying the security and military system for occupation forever. And the beginning of a bright era for the nation."
The activist then shared a photo of a paraglider flying towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque with the caption: "Soon towards Jerusalem."
On October 7, Hamas fighters used paragliders to cross the Israeli border and launch their campaign of terror against Jewish civilians.
Al Aloul further shared a video of Palestinian fighters infiltrating Israel from the air on Facebook, where he wrote, "Oversea and Air ohn from the Spider's House [sic]," in an apparent reference to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's claim that the Jewish state is "as weak as a spider's web".
He later shared a video of his own appearance on Beirut-based television channel Al Mayadeen and wrote: "The resistance succeeded in crushing the security, military, and intelligence systems of the occupation and the West."
Posting another clip featuring himself from the same broadcaster, he added: "'Israel' is no longer the land of ghee and honey for the Jews and the loss of security after 75 years on the Naqba contributed to a reverse migration outside the occupied territories."
Later in October, El Aloul insisted that he wanted to "liberate my country from the river to the sea".
El Aloul's open sympathy for Hamas's actions, which have included the massacre of civilians, comes amid growing public pressure for a ban on an anti-Israel march due to take place on Armstice Day.
Leaders of some organising groups and have been photographed meeting terror chiefs in Gaza and several have openly expressed support for the violent organisation, a JC investigation revealed earlier this month.
Leicester-based activist Ismael Patel, who runs The Friends of al-Aqsa, has visited Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.
In 2009, he was filmed at a rally declaring: “Hamas is no terrorist organisation. The reason they hate Hamas is because they refuse to be subjugated, to be occupied by the Israeli state, and we salute Hamas for standing up to Israel.”
Last month, John Nicholson, a leading figure in the Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told a rally in Oldham: “We support the Palestinian resistance… Let Suella Braverman hear this clearly: Oldham supports the Palestinian resistance.”
El Aloul was contacted for comment.