Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar managed to send a congratulatory letter from the tunnel in which he is hiding in Gaza to the President of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on the occasion of his election victory.
The letter states that "Sinwar reiterates his appreciation of the Algerian role in standing by the Palestinian people, and in defending their rights in international forums."
In the unusual statement, Hamas said that the message to the Algerian President was sent in the shadow of "the heroic war of the Palestinian people and their brave and firm resistance in the Battle of Al-Aqsa, despite the genocide and barbarity of the Zionist occupation."
Sinwar said in the statement that "the occupation is attacking our people in the West Bank, in Jerusalem and inside, in blatant violation and defiance of all international laws and conventions."
Tebboune was declared on Sunday the overwhelming winner of Saturday's election in Algeria, after official preliminary results gave him 95% of the vote, enough to avoid a second round run-off. His main rivals were Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, who got 3% of the vote, and Youcef Aouchiche, who won 2%. Turnout was 48%.
Tebboune, who was backed by the military, was facing only nominal opposition from Cherif, a moderate Islamist, and Aouchiche, a moderate secularist.
Algeria, like many Muslim states, does not have relations with Israel. In April of 2018, an Algerian court sentenced eight people to 10 years in prison over espionage for Israel.
Algeria has also been critical of Morocco for its decision to normalize ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords.
In 2020, the head of Algeria's largest Islamist party labeled Morocco's Prime Minister Saad Eddine El-Othmani a "traitor" over his country’s decision to normalize ties with Israel.