Queen Rania, who was born in Palestine, stated that although there is a “hyper-fixation” on Hamas, the crisis began “before October 7.”
She argued that while Israel is backed in its reprisal, Hamas should not be held accountable for its attack.
In an interview with CNN last night, Queen Rania of Jordan, who was born in Palestine, made a startling accusation against the West, claiming there was a “double standard” in the international community’s compassion for the war’s casualties and criticising America for backing Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hamas.
Born to Palestinian parents in Kuwait and raised in the West Bank, Rania was infuriated with Israel’s “apartheid regime,” insisting that the fighting started “before” Hamas massacred 1,400 Israelis on October 7.
She claimed that while she “of course” denounced Hamas’ murder of defenceless Israelis, she questioned why Israel’s right to self-defense was not receiving the same level of international attention and she saved all of her compassion for the Palestinian people.
Are we to understand that killing a family at gunpoint is wrong, but shelling them to death is acceptable?I mean, this clearly demonstrates a double standard.
She said to seasoned reporter Christiane Amanpour, “And it’s just shocking to the Arab world,” before speculating as to whether or not Hamas had “butchered” infants.
“Here, Christiane, I’m disputing equivalency and double standards, not accuracy.
“Confirmation bias occurs when a US president claims to have proof of children being beheaded but later recants the claim once the IDF disputes the evidence.
When you read through the story, Christiane, you’ll see that it hasn’t been independently checked even at your network.
At the outset of the conflict, CNN reported that Israeli children had been killed in an Israeli kibbutz.
Retaliating, Amanpour said that it had been confirmed by reporters from CNN as well as other international media present on the ground.
This week, a number of these media outlets were presented video footage of Hamas’ atrocities in an attempt to dispel false information.
For a video with embedded content, scroll down.
Amanpour made a direct plea for support for Israel and denounced Hamas, questioning whether she “accepted” that they had caused pain for the Palestinian people and citing images and recordings that were presented to journalists that showed the bodies of newborns that had been shot and burned alive.
After making a quick backpedalling, Queen Rania resumed her criticism of Israel and its allies.
“These are the laws of war, and everyone must abide by them.”
Yes, there was condemnation [of Hamas] and there was shock.
But why isn’t what is occurring right now subject to the same condemnation?Asking the 53-year-old about her feelings “as an Arab, as a Palestinian, as a mother, as a human being” since the October 7 Hamas attack was the first question Amanpour asked.
“I cannot begin to describe to you the depth of grief, pain, and shock that we are feeling here in Jordan,” Rania retorted.
The largest Palestinian community in the world, she claimed, lived in her nation, which was “united in grief, regardless of our origin.”
The pictures of moms putting their child’s name on their limbs so that they might be identified in the event that they were killed in airstrikes appalled Rania.
She continued, “I just want to remind everyone that mothers in Palestine love their kids just as much as mothers everywhere else in the world.”
The Palestinian killings were referred to as “butchery” by the queen.
How is that self-defense when there have been 6,000 civilian deaths, including 2,400 children, she questioned.
“We are witnessing mass murder with high-tech weapons.”
Over the last two weeks, Gaza has been subjected to an indiscriminate bombing that has resulted in the deaths of entire families, the destruction of residential neighbourhoods, and the targeting of medical personnel, journalists, hospitals, schools, churches, and mosques.
How is this self-defense? Before she married Abdullah, the current king, in 1993, the queen worked at Citibank and in Apple’s marketing division.
She claimed that the Arab world was incensed by the West’s duplicity.
Israel has been warned to respect civilian life by President Joe Biden, while the UN, World Health Organisation, and others have called for an end to the strikes on Gaza.
Rania criticised the “deafening silence” surrounding the bombing of Gaza and felt it was insufficient.
Why isn’t there a demand for a quick halt to hostilities? Given the extreme human suffering that is occurring today, why is the narrative consistently biassed in favour of Israel? She enquired.
Policymakers and the media in the West quickly embrace Israeli narratives.
Palestinians “die” in Israel’s attacks, but Israelis who perish are “killed,” “murdered in cold blood.”
She claimed that the reaction to the Hamas assault was instructive.
“Queen Rania, I just need to stop you right there because the Israelis have shown pictures and our journalists have been down there,” Amanpour interrupted her to say.
I am not referring to beheadings here; rather, I am referring to the bullet-riddled bodies of infants.
Rania goes on to add that Jordan forbids the murder of any civilian, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli.
She claimed that the Islamic Pact of Omar commands Muslims to cherish human life.Rania went on, “I just want to emphasise that, despite how it has been portrayed, this conflict did not begin on October 7.”
“You know, the story is being covered by most networks under the heading Israel at War.”
However, war has never truly ended for many Palestinians living on the opposite side of the barbed wire and the separation wall.
This is a 75-year-old tale of utter devastation and uprooting for the Palestinian people.
The narrative revolves around an apartheid-era occupation that involved land occupation, house demolition, land confiscation, military incursions, and night assaults.
You know, the story doesn’t include the background of a nuclear-armed regional power that oppresses, occupies, and regularly documents crimes against Palestinians.
She was informed by Amanpour that Israel was probably going to take offence at what she had said.
“Let me just emphasise that Israeli and international human rights organisations, not Arabs, are the ones who gave the designation apartheid,” she responded.
‘It’s not about me,’ Rania continued.
It involves standing up for humankind.
It’s not about supporting Israel or the Palestinians, you know.
Selecting the common people on both sides is the key here.
Furthermore, it needs to be reiterated that the Palestinian people have endured persecution and dehumanisation for far too long.
The mother of four children claimed that Palestinians “suffer daily indignities and human rights violations,” that there is no freedom of movement, that there are 500 checkpoints throughout the West Bank, that settlements are being built aggressively on Palestinian property, and that her people are being humiliated.
She claimed that Israel disregarded international law and broke UN resolutions.
“With everything that has happened over the last few weeks, there is a hyperfixation on Hamas right now,” she stated.
However, this is a problem that predates Hamas significantly and will persist even beyond Hamas.
What has to be heard is that this is a fight for justice and freedom.
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