Leading Al-Jazeera News Anchor Who Recently Interviewed Secretary Of State Blinken In Doha Has For Years Praised Hamas Missiles And Tunnels, Expressed Hopes For Israel's Demise

Leading Al-Jazeera news anchor and television program host Jalal Chahda, who on June 12, 2024 interviewed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Qatari capital Doha,[1] has been with the network since 2011 and is known for his extremist views. Chahda expresses support for terror organizations, especially Hamas, praises the firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza, opposes Israel's existence, and slams Arab countries for normalizing or seeking to normalize relations with this country. MEMRI has previously documented Chahda's extremist statements – see Al-Jazeera TV Journalists Use Their Facebook, Twitter Accounts As Propaganda Mouthpieces In Service Of Hamas, August 2014). That report stated  that on July 15, 2014, against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas fighting at that time,  Chahda tweeted: "The Israeli Iron Dome system is a paper tiger, weaker than a spider's web, a failure, and helpless against the rockets of the honorable resistance that defends the honor of the ummah."

A few days later, on July 25, 2014, Chahda expressed support for Hamas' tunnels, tweeting, "Gaza's tunnels are the Zionists' graveyard." He also praised armed resistance in general: "In the past, I believed that armed resistance in occupied Palestine was one of the methods of liberation, and today I believe that armed resistance is the only method."

Below are further examples of Jalal Chahda's extremist statements.

Chahda's interview with Blinken, aired June 12, 2024 (Image: Youtube.com/watch?v=LCR2xjkD_ZY )

Palestinian Resistance Is The Only Option

Chahda has posted numerous messages in praise of the Palestinian terror organizations, which he calls "resistance organizations," and in praise of rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. On August 28, 2014 he tweeted: "The nations, the peoples and the countries must know that you can't lose by betting on the resistance."

Later that day, he tweeted: "From today onward, the resistance is the one that will decide when the Israelis can go back to their homes, not [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu or any Jewish leader who comes after him."[2]

On August 12, 2017, he tweeted, "#I support the Palestinian resistance as the only way to [achieve] liberation," and later added: ""#I support the Palestinian resistance. How about you?"[3]

He tweeted on November 14, 2018: "#The resisting and steadfast Gaza is once again defeating the soldiers of the occupation and their leaders and establishing a [new] equation [in the] balance of terror by placing #Israel under [missile] fire. The sirens are howling and the bomb shelters have been opened, and #Netanyahu's Iron Dome is turning into spider's webs…"[4]

Hoping  To "Celebrate Israel's Destruction And Its Expulsion From The Region"

On July 29, 2012, Chahda wrote: "Today , on the day known as the Ninth of Av, the Jews in Israel  mark the destruction of their Temple. The hope is that we Arabs can soon celebrate Israel's destruction and its expulsion from our region."[5]

On May 6, 2019, he retweeted a post by Katrina Pierson, who had served as Donald Trump's spokesperson during his 2016 presidential campaign, and wrote: "An advisor on #Trump's team posted a video showing a massive rocket attack on Ukraine, presenting it as [rockets being fired into Israel from] Gaza and its resistance fighters... If the resistance had such capabilities, Israel would be a thing of the past..."[6]

He tweeted on October 14, 2015: "A thousand congratulations to Palestine, the path of resistance." Later that day he shared a photo of himself against the backdrop of an image titled "Palestine, the path of resistance."[7]

Chahda Condemns Arab Countries That Normalize Relations With Israel

In his posts, Chahda slams moderate Arab elements that oppose terror against Israel. On November 14, 2018, for example, he tweeted: "The calls on some Arab #Twitter accounts, especially Saudi ones, which urge the #Israeli occupation state to destroy the resistance movements in Gaza and which defend what they falsely call 'the right of the Israeli settlers to live in security' in #occupied Palestine, are more loathsome, ugly and  horrifying than the Israeli aggression against #the resisting and steadfast Gaza."[8]  

He tweeted on July 23, 2014: "I am surprised at some of the Arab media outlets that call the men of the Palestinian resistance 'gunmen'!!!"[9]

On December 23, 2018, he shared footage of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for, according to Abbas, transferring funds to Hamas as the Palestinian Authority is acting against Hamas terrorism and is itself suffering from it. Chahda wrote in response to Abbas' remarks: "Someone who condemns his own people's resistance against the occupation of their land cannot be their president..."[10]

In a July 20, 2017 Facebook post, Chahda condemned normalization between Arab countries  and Israel: "Together [we will achieve] the victory of #occupied Jerusalem and #the Al-Aqsa mosque in the confrontation with the occupation and its metal-detectors, and [await] the failure of the plan of some Arab countries to normalize relations with the occupying Zionist enemy. #Rage for the sake of Al-Aqsa."[11] 

Praise For Hamas Founder Ahmad Yassin

Over the years, Chahda has praised Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. On August 1, 2014, for example, he wrote: "A salute to the spirit of the Sheikh of the Resistance, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin (June 28, 1936–March 22, 2004)..."

Later that day he wrote: "The Sheikh of the Resistance, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, said: 'This is my position. With Allah's help I will continue to wage jihad until my land is liberated, for I do not fear death.'"[12]

On May 11, 2019, Chahda shared a photo of Yassin with the message: "A salute to the spirit of the Sheikh of the Resistance #Ahmad Yassin."[13]