Her Majesty Queen Rania, on Tuesday relayed the Arab World’s shock and disappointment at the world’s “glaring double standard” and “deafening silence” in the face of Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that, despite the prevalent Western media narrative, “this conflict did not begin on October 7th.” Queen Rania, on Tuesday relayed the Arab World’s shock and
disappointment at the world’s “glaring double standard” and “deafening silence”
in the face of Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that,
despite the prevalent Western media narrative, “this conflict did not begin on
October 7th.”
اضافة اعلان
“Most
networks are covering the story under the title of ‘Israel at War.’ But for many
Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall and the barbed wire, war
has never left. This is a 75-year-old story; a story of overwhelming death and
displacement to the Palestinian people,” Her Majesty said. “The context of a
nuclear-armed regional superpower that occupies, oppresses, and commits daily
documented crimes against Palestinians is missing from the narrative.”
In a
live interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, conducted remotely from Queen
Rania’s offices in Amman, Her Majesty explained that the people of Jordan are
united in “grief, pain, and shock” in response to the staggering civilian
casualties of the past 18 days of war.
“We've
seen Palestinian mothers who have had to write the names of their children on
their hands, because the chances of them being shelled to death – of their
bodies turning into corpses – are so high,” Queen Rania said. “I just want to
remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as
any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this, it's
just unbelievable.”
Conveying
Jordan’s position, Her Majesty stated that the country has been very clear that
it condemns the killing of any civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. “That
is Jordan's ethical, moral position. And it's also the position of Islam,” she
said, explaining that the religion prohibits Muslims to kill a woman, child, or
elderly person, to destroy a tree, or hurt a priest.
The
Queen stressed that these rules of engagement should apply to all sides,
arguing that Israel is committing atrocities under the guise of self-defense.
“6,000
civilians killed so far, 2,400 children – how is that self-defense? We are
seeing butchery at a mass scale using precision weapons,” she said, “For the
past two weeks, we have seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza: entire
families wiped out, residential neighborhoods flattened to the ground, the
targeting of hospitals, schools, churches, mosques, medical workers,
journalists, UN aid workers – how is that self defense?”
The
Queen went on to state that many in the region view the Western world as
complicit in this war through the support and cover that it provides Israel.
“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering
and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Her Majesty said. “Many in
the Arab world are looking at the Western world as not just tolerating this,
but as aiding and abetting it.”
Elaborating
on the plight of Palestinian people, Her Majesty explained, “There are over 500
checkpoints scattered all over the West Bank. You have a separation wall, which
is deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, that has separated the
territories into 200 disconnected enclaves. And you've seen the aggressive
expansion of settlements on Palestinian land, and those have interrupted the
territorial contiguity of the territories and has deemed an autonomous,
independent Palestinian state not viable.”
The
Queen also mentioned that Israel is in violation of no less than 30 UN Security
Council resolutions, which “require it, and it alone, to act to withdraw from
territories occupied in 1967, and to stop the settlements, the separation wall,
and the human rights violations.” She also underscored that Israel has been
designated as an “apartheid regime” by Israeli and international human rights
organizations.
Commenting
on military solutions to conflict, Her Majesty said: “Victory is a myth that
politicians make in order to justify immense loss of life… There can never be a
resolution except around the negotiating table. And there's only one path to
this: a free, sovereign, and independent Palestinian state living side by side
in peace and security with the state of Israel.”
The
Queen also indicated that allies to Israel are doing it a disservice by giving
it blind support. “Expediting and expanding the provision of lethal weapons to
Israel is only going to expand this conflict. It’s only going to prolong and
deepen the suffering,” she said.
Criticizing
the role of the media in covering the current conflict, Queen Rania noted the
double standard presented when Western interviewers demand that people
representing the Palestinian side immediately issue condemnations, requiring
them to “have their humanity cross-examined and present their moral
credentials.”
“We
don't see Israeli officials being asked to condemn, and when they are, people
are readily accepted by [claiming] ‘our right to defend ourselves,’” she said.
“I have never seen a Western official say the sentence: Palestinians have the
right to defend themselves.”
The
Queen also discussed the oppression of Palestinian expressions of solidarity in
Western democracies, commenting that when people gather to support Israel, they
are exercising their right to assembly, but when they gather for Palestine,
they are deemed terrorist sympathizers or anti-Semitic.
“Freedom
of speech is apparently a universal value, except when you mention Palestine,”
Her Majesty said.
Read more National news
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
