Senior Saudi Journalist: Arabs Have Double Standard On Israel And Hamas

[Valin]

MEMRI

December 4, 2023

Saudi Arabia, Palestine | Special Dispatch No. 10996

In an article titled "Gaza and the Double Standards" in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the daily's former editor, Tariq Al-Homayed, writes that since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel and the subsequent outbreak of the war in Gaza, the Arabs have been complaining bitterly that the West, and especially the U.S., apply a double standard to Israel and Hamas. However, Al-Homayed states, the Arabs themselves are also guilty of applying double standards in dealing with Israel and Hamas.

He states, as examples, that no one among the Arabs ever tells Hamas to stop jeopardizing the lives of the Gazans with reckless adventures that trigger devastating wars instead of seeking a real solution that will stop the bloodshed. No one ever told the Syrian regime to stop killing and targeting civilians and to pursue a political solution to end the bloodshed, he writes, nor has anyone told the combatants in Sudan to stop the killing in order to save what is left of the country. He adds that no one criticizes the "sponsors of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region" (hinting at Qatar) that, while themselves in direct contact with Israel, aim "incitement and provocation" against other countries that are forming ties with Israel in accordance with "what serves their national interests."

Returning to the issue of Hamas, Al-Homayed concludes: "It is inconceivable that [the] brutal war in Gaza will continue without Hamas bearing responsibility." 

The following are excerpts from his article, as published in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat's English-language edition.[1]

(Snip)