The leader of the radical Islamist organisation Hamas, which attacked Israel on 7 October, has sought the support of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a letter sent to Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic, BiH media said on Wednesday.

The istraga.ba news site published a copy of the letter signed and sent to Konakovic on 11 October by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. The copy seems authentic and the paper of the letter contains Hamas’s official insignia.

Explaining his view of the history of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, Haniyeh accuses Israel of the worst crimes and says that the Jewish state is governed by a “fanatical Zionist right wing” which is conducting “fascist and racist occupation” and with which there can be no agreement. He announces that Hamas will therefore resolutely fight for the realisation of the Palestinians’ legitimate rights.

Haniyeh says Operation Al-Aqsa, which began with the 7 October attack on Israel in which 1,300 people, including women and children, have been killed, will therefore continue.

“We call on all Arab and Islamic nations and all free people around the world to take urgent action and mobilise assistance and solidarity in all forms to protect the historical rights of the Palestinians,” the letter says, according to istraga.ba.

The BiH Foreign Ministry has not commented on the letter, by Konakovic’s People and Justice Party, commenting on the conflicts in the Middle East last Thursday, condemned all violence, notably against civilians.

“By condemning violence, we call for the establishment of lasting and just peace in this part of the world. There is no alternative to ending the occupation of Palestinian territories, unblocking Gaza and looking for a peaceful solution to the coexistence of the Palestinian and Israeli states,” the party said.