The Neturei Karta believe Israel can only be established by the Messiah
Four members of a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews opposed to the existence of Israel have visited Hamas in Gaza.
Themen, clad in the traditional ultra-Orthodox garb of black hats andcoats and with long side-curls in their hair, met Hamas leader Ismail Haniya.
The Neturei Karta believe that a Jewish state can onlybe established by the Messiah and thus denounce Israel as heretic andembrace its enemies.
Mr Haniya welcomed them, saying Hamas rejects Zionist ideology, not Jews.
"We feel your suffering, we cry your cry," the Associated Press quoted Rabbi Yisroel Weiss as saying.
"It is your land, it is occupied, illegitimately and unjustly by people whostole it, kidnapped the name of Judaism and our identity."
Therepresentatives entered Gaza, which is under a strict Israeli embargo,with a convoy of activists who travelled through Egypt.
'Heroes'
Neturei Karta, Aramaic for "Guardians of the City" was founded some 70 years ago in Jerusalem.
Estimates of the group's size range from a few hundred to a few thousand - some in Israel, others in the UK and US.
Membershave praised Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying Israelshould be erased from the pages of history - sometimes translated as"wiped off the map".
They have also attended a Holocaust denialconference in Tehran and held a prayer vigil for the late Palestinianleader Yasser Arafat as he lay on his death bed.
Mr Haniya described the men as "heroes", according to Palestinian media reports.
"Ourproblem is with the occupation, that stems from the Zionist ideologyand its desire to disperse all the Palestinians," he said.
"Thosereligious figures that express their objection to the siege, theaggression and the crimes - we can't help but respect them and fortheir beliefs and their culture."
Israel and most Western countries regard Hamas as a terrorist group and refuse to deal directly with it.
Themovement is sworn to the destruction of Israel in its charter and backsattacks on Israeli civilians, although has offered a long-termceasefire in exchange for a Palestinian state on the full territory ofthe West Bank and Gaza. 作者: 真田豪 时间: 2009-7-18 11:23