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.
“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. 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.”
Hamas killed more than 1400 people. According to the Palestinian Minister of Health, 9,700 people had been killed in Israeli strikes, almost half of them children. Queen Ranis said 70% of the dead are women and children.
“When 1.1 million people are asked to leave their homes or risk death, that is not protection of civilians. That is forced displacement,” she said. “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 well.”
Noting that many of Israel’s evacuation orders are issued online or on television, despite the fact that electricity in the Gaza Strip has been cut off for weeks, Her Majesty said she does not believe that these orders 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,” she said.
