Mick Hartley

I wonder how widespread this kind of view is now in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Saudi journalist Abdulaziz Alkhamis:

The MEMRI summary:

Saudi journalist Abdulaziz Alkhamis said in an October 25, 2023 show that was uploaded to Diwan Al-Mulla (Kuwait) on YouTube that Iran is exploiting Hamas, which serves merely as the tool of Iran. He said that the destruction of Gaza was caused by the “stupidity” of Hamas, its leaders, and its policy. Alkhamis continued to say that the children of Gaza are victims of a war between Iran and Israel. He added that Hamas leaders are using the women and children of Gaza as “fuel” for a war in which they themselves are merely tools. Alkhamis said that like Nasrallah ultimately regretted the July 2006 operation in which Hizbullah captured two Israeli soldiers, because he had not considered Israel’s response would be a war with Lebanon, so Hamas will regret the October 7 operation, because Israel’s response will go beyond that of the 2006 Lebanon war, it will “uproot Hamas.” Later on in the show, Alkhamis criticized Hamas for naming their operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” saying that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is “too pure and honorable” to be used for an operation that included capturing old and young women, slaughtering people, burning bodies, and raping women.