Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy CorbynReuters

The Hamas terrorist group on Thursday thanked British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for his message of solidarity to a pro-Palestinian rally in London, The Telegraph reported.

“We have received with great respect and appreciation the solidarity message sent by the British Labor Party Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to the participants in the mass rally that took place in central London,” the group said in a statement.

The message follows last weekend’s march in London in honor of “Nakba Day”, on which Arabs mark what they view as the “catastrophe” of the establishment of the State of Israel.

Corbyn did not speak at the event but sent a message to the marchers calling on the British government to condemn the killing of protesters in Gaza and freeze arms sales to Israel.

He also promised that if he becomes prime minister he would recognize “Palestine” as a state.

Hamas, according to The Telegraph, praised Corbyn for taking an “advanced moral and political position worthy of all praise and thanks.”

Corbyn’s Labour party has been embroiled in a series of controversies related to anti-Semitism in recent years. Dozens of Labour members have been suspended over their anti-Semitic statements.

Corbyn himself has been accused of holding anti-Semitic views by senior UK Jewish leaders. Corbyn has also been criticized for calling Hamas and Hezbollah his "friends" and for outright refusing to condemn those two terrorist organizations despite being urged to do so by local Jewish groups.

A spokesman for Corbyn said Thursday, according to The Telegraph, "Jeremy Corbyn has a long and principled record of solidarity with the Palestinian people. That is the right thing to do." The Israeli foreign ministry declined to comment.