Arab Media Figures: The Hamas Leadership Is Trading In The Palestinian Cause; It Is Responsible For The Killing And Destruction In Gaza – And Is Serving Iran

Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of southern Israel, in which about 1,400 people were murdered and over 240 were taken hostage, Arab journalists and media figures have been critical of Hamas's leadership, blaming it for all the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip today. They wrote that Khaled Mash'al, Ismail Haniya, and the other Hamas leaders are trading in the Palestinian cause and the blood of the children and civilians of Gaza, and are also enriching themselves at their expense. Calling Hamas leaders terrorists and criminals, they also said that they are pawns of Iran and are helping it destroy the Arab countries, kill the Arab peoples, and achieve its goals. One Saudi journalist even said that the Hamas leadership should be prosecuted but that even hanging them would do nothing to heal the hearts.  

This report will review some of these statements by Arab media figures.

Arab Journalists: Khaled Mash'al And Other Hamas Leaders Are Getting Rich Off The Palestinian Cause

Some Arab journalists accused Hamas leader abroad Khaled Mash'al and other Hamas leaders of trading in the Palestinian cause and getting rich off of it. They have even circulated an illustration created by Israel's Foreign Ministry depicting Mash'al on the cover of Forbes magazine with text  stating that he has a net worth of $5 billion, which he made by defrauding and robbing his people.[1]

For example, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, editor of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, posted on X on November 4, 2023: "Congratulations to the fighter Khaled Mash'al. The rich people's magazine [Forbes] reports that that your personal fortune is '$5 billion' and that the [personal] fortunes of Isma'il Haniya and his 13 children are not known. Before you, Yasser Arafat plundered everything and left it to his dear wife and daughter, who speak fluent French. Like many others, they trade in the Palestinian issue, and when you expose them and talk about them, their bots on social media spring into action, under pseudonyms. They curse you and depict you as a Zionist, your mother as a dancer, and your aunt as the head of a whorehouse. [They say that] our rulers have betrayed [the Palestinian] cause, as if the Palestinians don't want to liberate their land, and the ones who are meant to liberate Palestine are Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, or the UAE, and if they do not, then they are betraying it, and should be put to death!!"[2]" 

Al-Jarallah's tweet

Liberal Kuwaiti journalist Jasem Al-Juraid similarly wrote: "Khaled Mash'al, according to Forbes, has $5 billion of the global aid to his people. [He is] an international grifter, he and Haniya...!"[3]

Lebanese journalist Maria Maalouf, who is known for her opposition to Hizbullah and the resistance axis, wrote: "…I have said in the past that Khaled Mash'al is doing nothing but trading in Palestinian blood, and the mercenaries of the [Muslim] Brotherhood raged, and so did [their] social bot, and curses poured forth. It was he [Mash'al] who said that it was not enough for Iran and Hizbullah to become involved, and that the Arab countries must take responsibility for Palestine and its people. Indeed, he is right – the Arabs take an interest in Palestine, [whereas]  Hizbullah trades in it, and so does Iran. This is while [Mash'al] is busy accumulating funds, and behold, he is on the cover of Forbes magazine, and his fortune is declared as '$5 billion' and we do not know the magnitude of the fortune of [Ismail] Haniya and his children."[4]

Maria Maalouf's tweet

Saudi Journalist: Hamas Leaders Brought About The Death Of Ten Thousand In Gaza

Ibrahim Al-Suleiman, a Saudi journalist who writes a column for the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, blamed the Hamas leaders for the destruction and the deaths of thousands in Gaza, and criticized the Iran- and Hizbullah-led resistance axis. He wrote:

"Oh residents of Palestine, all the cards of the axis of luxury [i.e. the resistance axis][5] are exposed, since the Hamas leaders have failed in their calculated risk that led to the displacement of a million and a half people, the killing of 10,000 martyrs, and the wounding of 20,000 people – not to mention those who are missing and the destruction of half of Gaza. [Hamas failed to foresee] Nasr Al-Shaytan [a derogatory name for Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah] fleeing the battle[6] and Iran's evasiveness and distancing itself [from what is happening] and the fact that it refuses to fight on behalf of others. Awaken from your coma."[7]  

Ibrahim Al-Suleiman's tweet

Syrian Journalist: Hamas Leaders And The Resistance Axis Are Trading In The Blood Of Children

Syrian journalist Alia Mansour responded to a statement made by Hamas leader Isma'il Haniya on October 26. Haniya said, addressing "the free people of the world," that "the blood of the [Palestinian] women, children and elderly... we are the ones who need this blood, so it awakens within us the revolutionary spirit."[8] Alia Mansour wrote: "They [Hamas] do not value human [life]. They talk about children as if they were fungible... [They are] terrorists and criminals who have no opposition to murder. As Haniya said, 'we need the blood of children' to awaken the fighting spirit."[9]

Saudi Journalist And Writer: Prosecute The Hamas Leaders Who Sent The Gazans To Perdition

Saudi journalist and writer Abduh Khal was also harshly critical of the Hamas leadership, accusing them of causing a catastrophe in Gaza. He wrote:

"Since October 7, I have said that the Hamas leaders and sympathizers must stand trial. [Hamas] sympathizers attacked me, because they do not know the truth about the Hamas leadership. Now, after people were killed and their homes destroyed, [Ismail] Haniya speaks out to ask for a political solution.

"By Allah, [even] if the Hamas leaders were hanged at the entrance to Gaza, it would not heal the hearts.

"They are leaders – of boasting that send people to perdition.

"They have a cycle that we are used to: Every two or three years, they hold a feast of [boastful] words, and then Israel responds cruelly and destroys the land and kills the people.

"One's heart shrinks at the sight of the Palestinians who died because of this feast of words."[10]

Abduh Khal's tweet

Saudi Researcher And Columnist: Haniya Has Both Damaged The Palestinian Cause And Enslaved Hamas To Iran

Saudi researcher Muhammad Al-Hadla, who is a consultant on security affairs and fighting extremism and writers a column for the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, wrote on X: "There is no Arab worse than Isma'il Haniya. He had two tasks that he carried out skillfully and well. His first task was to [cause] the internal Palestinian schism by means of his leadership of Hamas, which struck at the credibility and justice of the Palestinian cause that [up till then] was a matter of Arab consensus and was respected by the world. His second task was to transform himself and his movement [Hamas] into a hired gun for Iran, that trades in the top Arab issue [i.e. the Palestinian issue], and it was Iran that chose [for its hired gun] the time and place to attack Israel – such that its response would destroy Palestine and kill its residents, in order to serve Iran."[11]

Al-Hadla's tweet

Hamas Leaders Are Pawns Of Iran In Destroying The Arab Countries And Murdering Their Peoples

Saudi petroleum engineer Dr. Mansour Al-Malik shared a video on November 5 showing Hamas leaders, and wrote on it: "Pawns of Iran, which is using them to destroy the Arab homeland and murder the Arab peoples."[12]

Mansour Al-Malik's tweet

Similarly, political analyst Jamal Abd Al-Aziz Al-Tamimi, who lives in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, wrote on X: "Ismail Haniya left Qatar today for Iran in a private plane! The Iranian clerics have a wondrous ability: Either  they themselves kill and expel the Arab peoples, or they cause their Arab agents to kill and expel them."[13]

Jamal Abd Al-Aziz Al-Tamimi's tweet

Saudi University Lecturer: Hamas's Foolish Acts Have Destroyed Gaza

Dr. Adel Al-Amari, a lecturer at Al-Qassim University in Saudi Arabia: "The Islamist organizations' entrance into politics means death to societies and to states. And this is the proof:

"Hamas's evil deed destroyed Gaza

"The insane Houthis brought destruction upon Yemen, and stopped it from functioning

"Iran's branches in Iraq caused Sunni-Shi'ite fighting."[14]

Al-Amari's tweet

 

Bahraini Commentator: This Isn't Just Israel's War On Terrorists – It Is A Conflict That Pits The Entire Middle East Against Evil

Amjad Taha, a UK-based Bahraini commentator, wrote on X: "Hamas terrorists are seeking involvement from Russia and China, while Kim Jong [Un] of North Korea has offered support to Gaza terrorists and the Yemeni [Houthi] terrorists' militia, situated 2,000 kilometers from Israel, are launching rockets at it. Do you still think that this is exclusively Israel's war? This is a conflict pitting the Middle East against evil."[15]

Taha's tweet