"It is your land, it is occupied, illegitimately and unjustly," says Rabbi Yisroel Weiss upon arrival.
Neturei Karta Haniyeh 248.88(photo credit: AP)By AP, JPOST.COM STAFFNeturei Karta representatives paid a brief visit to the Gaza Strip on Thursday on a solidarity mission with Hamas leaders.
It was the first time envoys from the anti-Zionist, ultra-Orthodox sect have visited the territory since Hamas seized control in June 2007.
The sect denounces Israel's existence and traditionally embraces its enemies - including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom Neturei Karta members famously hugged at a Holocaust denial conference in December 2006.
Four sect representatives from the US sat down with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday, after crossing into the territory through Egypt the night before with dozens of other pro-Palestinian activists. Israel, which maintains a strict blockade of Gaza, would not let them cross through its passages with the territory.
"We feel your suffering, we cry your cry," said Rabbi Yisroel Weiss upon arriving Wednesday night. "It is your land, it is occupied, illegitimately and unjustly by people who stole it, kidnapped the name of Judaism and our identity," said Weiss, wearing the black hat, black coat and long side-curls typical of ultra-Orthodox Jews. His delegation left early Thursday.
Hamas seeks the destruction of the state of Israel and has killed more than 250 Israelis in suicide bombings. Israel, along with the US and European Union, considers Hamas a terrorist group.
During their Thursday meeting, Haniyeh told them he held no grudge against Jews, but against the state of Israel, according to a Hamas Web site.
Neturei Karta, Aramaic for "Guardians of the City," was founded some 70 years ago in Jerusalem by Jews who opposed the drive to establish the state of Israel, believing only the Messiah could do that. Estimates of the group's size range from a few hundred to a few thousand.
Representatives of the sect had previously visited Gaza when it was ruled by Fatah.
One acted as Yasser Arafat's adviser on Jewish affairs, and a delegation traveled to Paris in 2004 to pray for the Palestinian leader's health as he lay dying in a hospital. Months later, a group participated in a conference in Lebanon with Hamas and Hizbullah militants.RECOMMENDED STORIESIDF targets Houthi military chief, one killed and at least 14 wounded in northern IsraelJUNE 14, 2025IDF says aircraft operating in heart of Tehran, denies claim Iran shot down fighter jetJUNE 14, 2025Tehran under fire: IDF continues strikes in Iran, focusing on the capital – what was hit?JUNE 14, 2025The road to Tehran has been paved: IDF secures air route for stronger strikes on IranJUNE 14, 2025