Arab media criticise Hamas
Featured on the pages of the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is a series of articles which are critical of Hamas and their behaviour recently.
Tariq Alhomayed of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat based in London heaped derision on the Hamas leader’s apportioning blame for the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza, saying that he should bear the brunt of the blame for their suffering after last years coup (under occupation) which saw Hamas supporters throwing Fatah supporters from the roofs of 15-storey buildings. He was also criticised for seeking assistance from the Saudi King to heal the rifts between the Palestinian peoples, when he was largely responsible for the rifts as they stand now.
[His] statements are proof of the depth of the crisis in which we are living in the Arab world. We repeat the same mistakes over and over again… The situation of the Palestinians in Gaza, and the barbaric oppression from which they suffer, are saddening. But it is equally saddening that they live under a leadership that does not understand that the role of a leadership is to protect the people and guarantee their security and livelihood.
Al-Arabiya TV director ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed said
Hamas fired rockets into a peripheral region in Israel, and Israel’s retaliation was brutal. [It] did not differentiate between Hamas and others… Hamas is the one responsible for exposing 1.5 million people to this harm…
Whilst Ghassan Al-Imam is clear in his hatred for the Israeli people, he still finds time to criticise Hamas and the wider Arab world.
“Is this effective resistance? According to surveys, two-thirds of Palestinians are dissatisfied with this resistance, and prefer to try negotiating a settlement [with Israel]. If the people of the West Bank and Gaza dare not speak out, why doesn’t the Arab world do so?
[...]
The Arab press, TV [channels], literature, and mentality all impose a culture of helplessness and despair on the nation. Not a single Arab dares express any criticism in these sad times, and if someone does dare, shrill accusations of treason, heresy, and collaboration with America and Israel are immediately heard…
...Hamas, [like the rest of the Palestinians] is a victim of its catastrophic mistakes and a hostage of the culture of despair, addicted to helplessness
Meanwhile, Palestinian journalist Nadia ‘Ilabouni wrote at www.metransparent.com that:
Hamas’ ongoing rocket [attacks] on the [Israeli] settlement of Sderot… were and still are an irresponsible [tactic] that brings the [Palestinians] nothing but evil and bitter consequences… The Palestinians have paid for this [tactic] with thousands of [people] killed, wounded, crippled, and arrested - while the political gain has been negligible…
“To continue this impolitic strategy means to continue on a path that will lead, sooner or later, to collective suicide. It is Hamas that is leading the Palestinians to this suicide, against their will… Hamas has turned the Palestinians… in the eyes of the world, from a people with a just cause to a bunch of desperate paupers begging for help.
Hopefully, such reporting represents a sea-change in the attitudes of the Arab world from a xenophobic mindset to a xenophilic one. Wouldn’t that be nice?
