Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan has called for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas, saying that supporting the protection of Palestinian lives does not equal being antisemitic or pro-terrorism.
“There has to be a collective call for a ceasefire,” Rania told CNN’s Becky Anderson. “I know that some who are against the ceasefire argue that it will help Hamas. However, I feel that in that argument, they are inherently dismissing the death, in fact, even endorsing and justifying the death of thousands of civilians, and that is just morally reprehensible.”
“Let me be very, very clear. Being pro-Palestinian is not being antisemitic, being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism,” she continued.
“What we’ve seen in recent years is the charge of antisemitism being weaponized in order to silence any criticism of Israel,” she said.
“I want to absolutely and wholeheartedly condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia…but I also want to remind everyone that Israel does not represent all the Jewish people around the world. Israel is a state and is alone is responsible for its own crimes.”
Key quotes from Queen Rania:
On the need for a ceasefire:
“There has to be a collective call for a cease fire. And I know that some who are against the ceasefire argue that it will help Hamas. However, I feel that in that argument, they are inherently dismissing the death, in fact, even endorsing and justifying the death of thousands of civilians and that is just morally reprehensible. It is also short sighted and not entirely rational because as I’ve said before: if you manage to eliminate all of Hamas, what’s next is the root cause of this conflict, [which] is an illegal occupation.
If we do not address these root causes, then you can kill the combatants but you cannot kill the cause. So on the rubble of these destroyed buildings will emerge. Another group more determined and more motivated to do what Hamas did. So I think Israel needs to once and for all realize that if it wants its security, the surest route is through peace, not the strongest military or the most capable intelligence services or the iron dome or the separation wall will safeguard Israel’s security as much as peace would. And I think that is the track that we need to pursue now.”
On the humanitarian crisis in Gaza:
“I cannot begin to describe the scale and the scope of the catastrophic humanitarian situation that we are seeing. It is absolutely unprecedented, and it’s been unbearable to watch the avalanche of human suffering. We’re seeing almost 10,000 deaths, almost half of them are Children. And if you just put that in perspective over the last four weeks in Gaza, eight times more children were killed than the 20 months of the Ukraine war. UNICEF has called Gaza a graveyard for children. And these are not just numbers, each one of these children was somebody’s everything.
You know, there’s an acronym in Gaza, ‘WCNSF’ – wounded child with no surviving family. That’s an acronym that should never exist, but it does exist in Gaza… How many more people have to die before our global conscience awakes? Or is it forever dormant when it comes to the Palestinians?”
On Israel’s insistence that they are doing their best to protect civilians, and that Hamas is using civilians as human shields:
“Look, after over 10,000 people killed, 70% of whom are women and children, for the Israelis to claim that they are trying to protect citizens is an insult to one’s intelligence. When 1.1 million people are asked to leave their homes or risk death, that is not a protection of civilians that is forced displacement.
And UN agencies and other agencies have said that there is no safe place in Gaza. And even the areas that they have asked people to seek refuge in, those so-called safe zones, they have been attacked as… These evacuation orders I do not believe are for the benefit of the Gaza civilians. They are not the target audience. The rest of the world is it, is Israel’s attempt to try to legitimize their actions.
And when it comes to human shield, I think we need to defer to international law. Of course, the use of human shields is criminal. But even if one side use, it puts a civilian in harm’s way that civilian is still entitled to full protection under international humanitarian law, that is the global standard and no nation is exempt. So before firing any bullet, before dropping any bomb, it is responsible of the nation to weigh the risk to civilian life. And if that risk is disproportionate to the military target, then it is deemed unlawful. And frankly, I find it really outrageous when Israeli officials audaciously dismiss Palestinian casualties as human shields.”
On the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia:
“I want to absolutely and wholeheartedly condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia. It’s never ok, it’s never justified to attack somebody based on their political beliefs. But I also want to remind everyone that Israel does not represent all the Jewish people around the world. Israel is a state and it alone is responsible for its own crimes. Jewish people around the world, many of them are appalled by what they’re seeing.
Islamophobia is the other side of the same disease and we Muslims, we have to be the first to condemn antisemitism. We have had a long history of peaceful coexistence. So this is not about religion, it is about politics.
And what we’ve seen in recent years is the charge of antisemitism being weaponized in order to silence any criticism of Israel. So defenders or supporters of Israel who cannot defend Israel’s actions or conduct, they revert to revert to shutting the conversation down by equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Let me be very, very clear. Being pro-Palestinian is not being antisemitic, being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re pro Hamas or pro terrorism.
I think Israel deserves more from its allies than just unequivocal support. I think it deserves some uncomfortable truth because if you are a real friend, you support your friend when they’re right. But you also tell them when they’ve crossed the line.”
Content Credit: CNN
