No News Is Bad News
Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. (Photo: Atia Mohammed/Flash90)
For image info, go to https://allarab.news/its-high-time-arab-leaders-denounce-hamas-as-bloody-thirsty-terrorists-and-oppressors-of-palestinians/
Arabs condemn international terrorist Hamas
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24, 2023: The above video clip has not been verified but if it is authentic, it shows not all Islamic countries support the international terrorist Hamas.
The video shows the Crown Princ eof Bahrain condemning Hamas in his speech at an international Islamic summit on Palestine.
The video shared in social media came with the following comments:
[23/11, 3:32 pm] XXX: Very diplomatic and effective. Indirectly telling the Hamas organisation that violence of that nature does not deserve support from the Arabs.
[23/11, 3:32 pm] XXX: Tin Kosong AI made a big foreign policy blunder by openly supporting terrorist Hamas. 5 Arab countries have shoved him aside in the OIC meeting and let the Arabs themselves do the talking. He tried to continue his rhetoric in APEC and was again sidelined and now he is back empty handed. Plain stupidity due to his desire to appease the ketuanan Malays here at the risk of losing his international status.
Of course, if the video is authentic and the comments are accurate, one does not expect the eunuch local media to carry any news on the matter.
Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his so-called Madani Unity Government (UG) must surely rethink it priorities to help poor and lower income Malaysians by focusing their attention on economic recovery amid a sluggish global economy.
What is happening between Israel and Hamas (Palestinians) is most unfortunate and showing sympathy and support for peace is rightly so.
But for Anwar and UG to go further than that, to donate precious funds belonging to taxpayers, denying them of more aid to ease their daily needs is unjustified.
The Government’s priority is to heal the economy that is saddled with a more than RM1.5 trillion national debt, and to strengthen the Ringgit.
In short, stop the over zealous support and rhetoric for Hamas terrorists.
Come the 16th General Election which must be held in 2027, Malaysians are likely to dump Anwar and his UG for a viable or not so viable alternative political coalition to govern Malaysia.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below news reports for background:
How did Arab states react to Hamas operation against Israel?
07 October, 2023
Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, killing more than 100 Israelis. The attack comes amid a recent wave of normalisation between Israel and Arab states. So how did major Arab countries react?
Saudi Arabia called for "an immediate cessation of the escalation" [Getty]
The Palestinian group Hamas has launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, killing more than 100 people in a surprise operation that included fighters entering Israel by land, sea and air using paragliders after a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have also killed 198 Palestinians and injured over 1,600 in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry.
Israel said that Hamas had declared war and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to "retaliate".
The major attack by Hamas came as Saudi Arabia and Israel were working towards a US-brokered deal to normalise relations, after UAE, Bahrain and Morocco normalised ties in the controversial Abraham Accords agreement in 2020.
The assault by Hamas also came after recent deadly attacks by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Here are reactions to the fighting so far from key Arab states:
Saudi Arabia
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Saudi Arabia was "closely monitoring the unprecedented developments between various Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation forces, resulting in an escalation of violence on several fronts".
It said Riyadh calls for "an immediate cessation of the escalation" between both sides and "the protection of civilians".
It said Saudi Arabia had issued repeated warnings of a possible escalation in light of "the ongoing occupation and the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights, as well as the repeated deliberate provocations against their sanctities".
It urged the international community to "fulfil its responsibilities and activate a credible peaceful process leading to a two-state solution that achieves security and peace in the region and protects civilians".
Second Israeli minister visits Saudi Arabia in a week
MENA
The New Arab Staff
Qatar
Qatar, which has been starkly opposed to normalisation with Israel, expressed "deep concern" over the developments in the Gaza Strip.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel was "solely responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its continuous violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, including its recent repeated intrusions into the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police".
It called on the international community "to compel Israel to stop its blatant violations of international law, hold it accountable to respect legitimate international decisions and the historical rights of the Palestinian people, and prevent these events from being used as a pretext to ignite a new disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza".
The statement reaffirmed Qatar's "consistent position in support of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the establishment of their independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital."
40 Israelis killed as Hamas launches Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
MENA
The New Arab Staff & Agencies
UAE
The UAE expressed "deep concern" over the escalation in a statement that stressed the need "to stop the escalation and preserve the lives of civilians".
The statement offered "sincere condolences" to all the victims of the recent fighting.
It called for "the immediate reactivating of the international Quartet to revive the path of Arab-Israeli peace", and urged the international community to advance all efforts made to achieve comprehensive and just peace, and prevent the region from being dragged to "new levels of violence, tension and instability".
Late on Sunday, the UAE issued another statement slamming Hamas' attack as a "serious and grave escalation".
The UAE foreign ministry statement added that it was "appalled" by reports Israeli civilians were taken as hostages from their homes, but avoided criticism of Israel's deadly strikes on Gaza.
"Civilians on both sides must always have full protection under international humanitarian law and must never be a target of conflict," the ministry added.
Bahrain
Bahrain criticised the attacks by Hamas, saying they constituted "a dangerous escalation that threatens the lives of civilians", according to a foreign ministry statement on Monday.
The statement also affirmed "Bahrain's denunciation of the reported kidnappings of civilians from their homes to be taken as hostages" and urged for the de-escalation of the violence that threatens regional security and stability.
Kuwait
Kuwait expressed its "grave concern" over developments between Israel and the Palestinians, blaming Israel for what it called its "blatant attacks".
The foreign ministry in a statement called on the international community to "stop the provocative practices by the occupation" and the "policy of expanding settlements".
Oman
Oman called on Israel and the Palestinians to exercise maximum self-restraint, the state news agency reported quoting an official statement.
The statement asked the international community and international parties to "intervene immediately to stop the ongoing escalation and resort to the rules of international law".
Egypt
Egypt, which normalised with Israel in 1980 under a peace treaty, warned of "grave consequences" from an escalation in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency.
It called for "exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger".
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri also held a call with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to discuss developments between Israel and the Palestinians since Friday evening, stating that both sides should exercise restraint to avoid serious risks.
Morocco
"The Kingdom of Morocco expresses its deep concern at the deterioration of the situation and the outbreak of military action in the Gaza Strip, and condemns attacks against civilians wherever they may be," a foreign ministry statement said.
Hezbollah 'assesses' situation amid Hamas attack on Israel
MENA
William Christou
Lebanon's Hezbollah
Lebanon's Hezbollah praised Hamas for its "heroic operation" in a statement.
"Hezbollah congratulates the resisting Palestinian people," the Lebanese Shia movement said in a statement, hailing Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, for the "large-scale, heroic operation".
Hezbollah said its leadership was following the developments and "in direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance at home and abroad".
Hezbollah said the Hamas operation in Israel was a "response to the continued crimes of the occupation and the continued assault on holy sites".
The Iran-backed group also said the Hamas operation was "a message to the Arab and Muslim world and the entire international community, especially those seeking normalisation".
In 2006 Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers.
Syria
The Syrian foreign ministry called the Hamas operation an "honourable achievement that proves the only way for Palestinians to obtain their legitimate rights is resistance in all its forms".
Syria also expressed its "support" for the Palestinian people and the forces "fighting against Zionist terrorism".
Yemen
Houthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa said they supported "the heroic jihadist operation".
In a statement published on the website of the Huthi-controlled SABA news agency, the Iran-aligned militant group said the attack "revealed the weakness, fragility and impotence" of Israel.
It called the operation "a battle of dignity, pride, and defence".
This article has been republished on 10 October to include the latest statements.
Arab diplomats ‘horrified’ by Hamas onslaught but critical of Israel’s response
Two senior officials say sympathy for Israel dissipated amid IDF operation, fume over Israeli proposals for Egypt and Jordan to take in Gaza refugees
By JACOB MAGID 19 October 2023, 8:23 am
Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip, October 16, 2023. (Fatima Shbair/AP)
A pair of senior diplomats representing Arab countries that have ties with Israel told The Times of Israel that their governments were horrified by the scenes that came out of southern Israel after the shock Hamas onslaught on October 7, during which gunmen slaughtered over 1,400 people.
The comments were made on condition of anonymity, as the vast majority of the Arab world has refrained from condemning the Hamas assault, instead preferring to censure attacks on civilians in a general way. Only the United Arab Emirates issued a specific condemnation of Hamas.
While the two diplomats insisted that there is wall-to-wall disapproval among Israel’s Arab allies and beyond of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 — one of them saying his government was “horrified” — they said the attacks prove the failure of Israel’s long-maintained strategy of “ignoring the Palestinian issue.”
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One of the diplomats pointed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last month at the UN General Assembly, in which he asserted that peace between Israel and the Arab world can precede peace with the Palestinians.
“Nothing excuses these acts by Hamas, but you cannot ignore what has been happening in Gaza for all of these years,” the diplomat said.
Moreover, the two diplomats said, Israel’s crushing response in Gaza to the Hamas attacks has led to the dissipation of goodwill that Jerusalem had briefly obtained from some of its Arab allies.
People search for victims and survivors, following an Israeli strike on the town of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on October 18 2023. (Mohammed Faiq / AFP)
The diplomats said their governments were particularly incensed by calls from some Israeli figures for Egypt to take in refugees from Gaza, explaining that this could set a precedent for the mass transfers of Palestinian populations from the West Bank into Jordan, which Amman opposes in the strongest of terms.
“Egypt and Jordan view such proposals as existential threats,” said one of the diplomats.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Tuesday that neither his country nor Egypt will accept Palestinian refugees, declaring it a “red line.”
“Some of the usual suspects are trying to create facts on the ground,” Abdullah said during a press conference held after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. “There will be no refugees in Jordan and no refugees in Egypt.”
Senior Hamas figure Khaled Mashaal said in an interview Monday that Gazans will not leave the Strip no matter what, and that their displacement would harm Egyptian national security and would pose a danger to Jordan.
The diplomats speaking to The Times of Israel explained that while some in Israel interpreted the Abraham Accords to mean that Arab countries that normalize with Jerusalem no longer care about the Palestinian cause, the latest Gaza war should serve as a reminder that sympathies and allegiances in the region remain with the Palestinians.
“The Abraham Accords were never going to immunize Netanyahu from the Palestinian issue,” said Hussein Ibish, a senior scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
“What they did was make Israel’s relations with some of its Arab neighbors more normal,” he added, arguing that a subsequent decision to temporarily suspend those ties would also be part of that “more normal relationship.”
Ibish argued that following the October 7 onslaught, Israel’s Arab allies would prefer that the IDF carry out a limited military campaign in Gaza that weakens Hamas considerably.
He maintained that destroying the terror group completely would be a “pipe dream” and that they will not support the kind of grueling military operation that appears to be in the works.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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