In a June 9, 2024 article, Khalid bin Hamad Al-Malik, editor-in-chief of the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, wrote that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address the U.S. Congress on June 24, 2024, is a murderer, terrorist and war criminal and that the U.S. should arrest him when he arrives instead of honoring and supporting him. Al-Malik also urged Hamas to remain rigid in the negotiations with Israel until it achieves victory, because "the resistance" is the one holding the cards, not the U.S. and not Israel, which is failing to achieve its goals in the war. Victory over Israel, he explained, means making a deal which will guarantee the release of Palestinian prisoners in return for the Israeli hostages, a permanent end to the war, the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Gaza and the commencement of dialogue to implement the two-state solution.
Khalid bin Hamad Al-Malik (Image: X.com/1khalid_almalik)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"June 24, [2024] has been firmly set as the date on which Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will address the U.S. Congress. The invitation came in response to the decision of the International Court [of Justice] to issue an arrest warrant [for Netanyahu] as a war criminal who enabled a genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip…
"Logically speaking, the U.S. should capture Netanyahu and turn him in to face justice instead of welcoming him as a victor and shielding him from the punishment he deserves. But this is the U.S., which is far removed from [any inclination] to enforce the law on its criminal allies, especially Israel…
"In his speech Netanyahu will tell his usual lies and receive from America nothing but support for his crimes. He will present his war as self-defense against criminals and terrorists, when it is he who is the murderer, criminal, terrorist, occupier and aggressor and the one denying [people] water, medicines and food and victimizing civilians from all sectors, [including] women, children and elderly people… His speech, full of deceptions and lies, will elicit applause from the audience [expressing] their support and sympathy and their approval and backing for his continued policy of aggression. He will thus return to Israel armed with American support – which will cast the U.S. in a dubious light in terms of its position on the chronic Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"However, the one holding the cards in this war is neither the U.S. nor Israel but rather the resistance. [Therefore, the resistance] should not fall into the American-Israeli trap at this sensitive stage of the war without achieving victory over Israel. The victory in question must produce [the following]: the release of the Israeli hostages in return for [Palestinian] prisoners, a permanent end to the war, an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the commencement of dialogue to implement the two-state solution. Anything less means that Isael will achieve its goals.
"The Palestinians must realize that Israel – as the Israeli opposition claims, along with [Israeli] military figures – has not yet realized its goals, for it has failed to release the hostages, to topple Hamas or to win the war on the ground and it is unsure how to manage the [Gaza] Strip after the end of the war. At the same time, there are first [glimmerings] of international recognition of the Palestinian state, condemnation of Israel in international courts, popular pressure inside Israel, and disagreements and resignations in the Israeli government. [Moreover,] coverage of the Palestinian issue in the global media is balanced or positive. All this compels us to beware of [taking] any decision or position that will torpedo these achievements."
[1] Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia), June 9, 2024.
