Today's Observer reports Jeremy Corbyn on Press TV in 2012 saying "the hand of Israel" was behind Jihadist terrorism in Egypt. But there was another interesting guest on that show with Corbyn: a convicted Hamas terrorist called Dr Abdul Aziz Umar /1 theguardian.com/politics/2018/…

Here is Umar ("Brother Amr") via satellite with Corbyn and Lauren Booth. He got seven life sentences for helping to organise a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem in 2003 that killed seven people. He was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal themuslimtv.net/view_video.php… /2

Umar provided an apartment for the bomber to prepare his bomb and stood guard at the door while he got ready. Two of the people killed were a bride-to-be and her father, the day before her wedding terrorism-info.org.il/Data/pdf/PDF_1… /3

So what did Corbyn have to say about this convicted Hamas terrorist? "You have to ask the question why they are in prison in the first place... I'm glad that those who were released were released, I hope they're now in safe places" /4

He had even met Umar before: "I met many of the brothers including the brother who's been speaking here when they came out of prison, when I was in Doha earlier this year." So now we can add "brothers" to "friends" as the words Corbyn uses to describe Hamas /5

According to Corbyn, "if there was a serious case against the individual prisoners that Israel claims there would be then they wouldn't win an appeal, they wouldn't get out, they wouldn't be released." /6

Of course they didn't win an appeal, they got out because Hamas kidnapped an Israeli soldier and held him hostage for 5 years until Israel agreed to a trade. Corbyn knows this because he mentions "Corporal Shalit" in the programme /7

I'm sure we'll be told Corbyn doesn't condone violence, just cares about prisoner welfare, doesn't think Hamas terrorists are his "brothers", etc etc. But that's not what it looks like here. /End

A postscript to this thread: Corbyn's appearance on Press TV was in August 2012, seven months AFTER Press TV lost its Ofcom licence for broadcasting the forced interrogation of a prisoner in Iran.