The Qatari media's unreserved support for Hamas and for this organization's October 7 attack on Israel,[1] in which about 1,400 Israelis were massacred, thousands were wounded and some 200 were kidnapped, is accompanied by a brutal media attack on the U.S. and the West for supporting Israel's war on Hamas and its right to defend itself. An article in the Qatari state press described the U.S. as "complicit" in Israel's "crimes," and justified Hamas' attack on the grounds that America, too, won its independence by means of a "terrorist war" and armed struggle against Britain. Another article slammed U.S. President Biden's statements in support of Israel, describing them as hypocritical, sick and inciting, and called the Americans "infidels." Other articles claimed that America's support for Isael reflects the collapse of its morals and threatens democracy and international law.
Cartoons published in the Qatari press likewise slammed the U.S. and President Biden.
The following are translated excerpts from some of the articles and a sampling of the cartoons.
Al-Arab Editor: U.S. Is Complicit In Israel's Crimes
Faleh bin Hussein Al-Hajeri, head of the editorial board of the Al-Arab daily, wrote: "… When U.S. President Joe Biden says that 'Hamas is like the terror organization ISIS' and that 'Israel is fully entitled to defend itself,' we understand that [the Americans] are complicit in the crime. Gaza has exposed their true face. They are not defenders of human rights, dignity and freedom…"[2]
"Biden's visit to the occupation state" is meant to cleanse Israel of Gazan blood (Al-Sharq, Qatar, October 19, 2023)
Qatari Journalist: The U.S. Itself Waged A Terrorist War To Gain Its Independence
Qatari journalist Ahmad Ali, a former CEO of the Al-Watan daily, justified Hamas' attack in an October 19 article in the daily Al-Sharq. He likened the Palestinian struggle for independence to the American War of Independence, and accused the U.S. of pursuing a discriminatory policy towards the Palestinians.
He wrote: "I pen [this article] at a fateful, meaningful and blood-soaked moment, while the Israeli occupation government is waging a barbaric and savage war against our people in Gaza, with U.S. support, in order to exterminate them under the pretext of fighting 'Palestinian terror'!...
"I remind U.S. President Biden, who came to Israel on Wednesday [October 18]…, [as well as] his secretary of state Blinken and the [other] members of the U.S. administration, which is biased in favor of Israel, that the U.S. managed to win its independence from colonialist Britain in 1776 only by means of armed struggle and fighting… The early American 'patriots' waged a blood-soaked war, not to say a 'terrorist' war, against colonialist Britain… until [their] resistance forces managed to win and issued the declaration of independence from the [British] crown on July 4, 1776…
"It is saddening that the U.S. and the West gave Netanyahu, who was failing domestically, an official power of attorney to perpetrate war crimes against Palestinian civilians, after trying to outdo each other in declaring their support for the Israeli aggression…
"There is no doubt that America's discriminatory policy towards the Palestinian issue constitutes support for the crimes that the occupation authorities are perpetrating against the Palestinian people…"[3]
President Biden complicit in Israel's attacks on Gaza (l-Arabi Al-Jadid, London, October 19, 2023)
America's "war on terror": Whoever refuses to bow down is shot (Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, London, October 19, 2023)
Qatari Journalist: The Palestinians Will Continue To Hold Their Heads High, To The Chagrin Of The "Infidels"
Qatari journalist Rabi'a bin Sabbah Al-Kuwari, a lecturer in media studies at the University of Qatar, wrote in an article titled "Biden and the Spreading of the Culture of Hatre," published October 21 in the daily Al-Sharq: "It is odd that U.S. President Joe Biden, who is [usually] careful in what he says, does not know how to please all the sides and so arrogantly and shamelessly declared his support for the oppressing Zionist entity…
"His power, his deadly weapons and his bombs that are outlawed by the international [conventions] have been placed at the Israelis' disposal in order to massacre our brothers in Palestine and wage an all-out war against them…
"What is shameful about Biden's hypocritical and sick speeches is his ongoing insistence on supporting the oppressor at the expense of the oppressed… We say in response to [his] speeches and declarations of hatred that the Palestinian resistance has a legitimate right to defend itself, to liberate the land and to deter the attackers in the [present] circumstances, which are dire and bleak, no matter what cost the Palestinians must pay.
"People of Gaza, may Allah give you victory, for you are emblems of martyrdom and honor. Your heads will be held high until Judgement Day, 'although the infidels abhor it' [Quran 9:32]."[4]
U.S. Supports Israeli war in Gaza (Al-Watan, Qatar, October 12, 2023)
Editor Of Al-Sharq: American And Western Support For Israel Is A Collapse Of Morality
In an October 22, 2023 article in Al-Sharq, the daily's editor-in-chief, Jaber Al-Harmi, criticized American and Western support for Israel and wrote that their talk about human rights and liberty is nothing more than slogans. He wrote:
"…In addition to providing all the logistical and military aid to the Zionist entity [i.e. Israel], the West and the U.S. are guilty of even uglier acts and of massacres that are just as bad as the Zionists' massacres, [namely] an attempt to bury the truth, deny freedom of expression and present the Israeli narrative as true…
"Today, during the war in Gaza, the West and America are leading [the efforts] to suppress anyone who points to the true reality of the crimes being carried out by the Zionist entity… Freedom of expression and human rights, which the West talks about and the U.S. champions, are just slogans that they employ when necessary in accordance with the goals they serve…
"The politicians and the large media outlets in the U.S. and the scheming West are watching these crimes in Gaza while remaining silent. More than that, they deny them and lean in favor of the murderers [i.e., Israel] and their narrative, accusing the victim of dirtying his killer's bullet. We are witnessing the collapse of the Western moral system with regards to the other, and see the West acting in accordance to its interests. Many elements in the West – politicians, media personalities, and institutions – lack all morality, values and principles. Gaza has exposed the shame of the West and removed the masks of [its] politicians, media figures and intellectuals…"[5]
"The American humanitarian corridor" (Al-Sharq, Qatar, October 24, 2023)
Al-Quds Al-Arabi: Western Support For Israel Greenlights "Collective Destruction"
An October 13, 2023 editorial in the London-based Qatari daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi addressed the support for Israel expressed by Western leaders, led by President Biden, after Hamas' October 7 invasion. It also addressed the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers that have been deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. The article says: "…The Western position, as expressed by officials in Washington, Britain and other capitals, was a clear statement approving of the Israeli government's decisions regarding open revenge [i.e. with no specified end date], collective destruction, and a total siege of the residents of the [Gaza] Strip. In short, the Israeli position is the product of the astonishing Western conspiracy, which ignores international law…"[6]
A second editorial, published on October 20 reads:"…The positions of the Western leaders, and particularly of the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Italy, have gone further than identification with the Israeli positions, and have become a threat to the principles of democracy, freedom of expression, and international law…"[7]
[1] See MEMRI reports: Special Dispatch No. 10840 - Qatar And Qatari Press Express Unreserved Support For Massive Hamas Terror Attack On Israel, Hold Israel Solely Responsible For It – October 9, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10872, Qatar Enabling Hamas' War Against Israel, October 15, 2023.
[2] Al-Arab (Qatar), October 12, 2023.
[3] Al-Sharq (Qatar), October 19, 2023.
[4] Al-Sharq (Qatar), October 21, 2023.
[5] Al-Sharq (Qatar), October 22, 2023.
[6] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), October 13, 2023.
[7] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), October 20, 2023.
