On May 2, 2018, the seventh anniversary of the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a Telegram channel named for Hamas’s military wing, “The Martyr Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades,” published several messages about the late Al-Qaeda leader.
Along with these messages, the channel, which has some 3,000 members, reposted eulogies issued by Hamas after bin Laden’s death in 2011 that were circulated at that time on a Hamas forum.
One of the messages posted by the Telegram channel, under the hashtag “Sheikh Osama bin Laden, May Allah Take Him to His Bosom,” stated: “On that day, May 2, 2011, the nation lost its lion, its educator, its jihadi, its innovative imam, its martyr and its courageous [son].”
The message accompanied a poster published in 2011 on the above-mentioned Hamas forum showing bin Laden, a map of Greater Palestine and a quote by the Al-Qaeda leader: “… The U.S. and its people will have no security as long as there is no security in Palestine.”
Also posted was a message addressed to bin Laden: “Our beloved sheikh, you promised us that we will live in security, and we, the people of Hamas, are completely loyal to you.”
Full report at MEMRI here.