Ultra-Orthodox Jews pay visit to Hamas leaders in Gaza

Four members of the anti-Zionist sect of ultra-Orthodox Jews Neturei Karta (‘Guardians of the City’), which is opposed to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, have visited Hamas leaders in Gaza. The men, clad in the traditional ultra-Orthodox garb of black hats and coats and with long side-curls in their hair, met Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, who welcomed them by saying that Hamas rejected 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 who stole it, kidnapped the name of Judaism and our identity." The Neturei Karta leaders entered Gaza with a convoy of activists who travelled through Egypt. Haniya described the men as "heroes", according to Palestinian media reports.

Members have praised Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying Israel should be erased from the pages of history. They also attended a Holocaust denial conference in Tehran.