RIYADH: Israel and Hamas should be condemned because of their acts against civilians, Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief insists, but maintains that the Palestinians have a right to resist Israel’s military occupation.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal condemned “Hamas’ targeting of civilian targets of any age or gender, as it is accused of,” and said the acts go against Islamic injunctions about harming civilians and desecrating places of worship.
“But equally, I condemn Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Palestinian innocent civilians in Gaza and the attempt to forcibly drive them into Sinai.”
“There are no heroes in this conflict. Only victims,” Prince Turki told a gathering at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston on Tuesday.
Prince Turki, who once served as the Kingdom’s top diplomat in the US and the UK, said: “All militarily occupied people have a right to resist their occupation — even militarily.”
But Prince Turki sees a different approach being more fruitful for Palestinians.
“I prefer the other option: civil insurrection and disobedience. It brought down the British Empire in India and the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe.”
Ten days ago, Hamas operatives crossed the Gaza border into Israeli settlements killing more than a thousand Israelis including soldiers and civilians.
Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas and has since rained down bombs on Gaza killing more than 3,000 civilians, including an attack on a hospital that killed upwards of 500 people on Tuesday.
But Prince Turki said that two wrongs do not make a right and that both parties in the conflict deserve condemnation.
Hamas had gifted the higher moral ground to an unpopular Israeli government that even half of the Israeli public view as “fascist, miscreant, and abhorrent,” Prince Turki said.
“Israel has overwhelming military superiority and we see in front of our eyes, the devastation and oblivion it is bringing to the people of Gaza.”
He condemned Israel for targeted killings and the indiscriminate arrest of Palestinian children, women and men in the West Bank.
Prince Turki also took issue with the current framing of events involving the struggle of the Palestinian people.
“I’ve been hearing a repeated phrase in American media: unprovoked attack. What more provocation is required to make it provoked than what Israel has done to the Palestinian people for three quarters of a century.”
“I refer you to the article in the Middle East Monitor of Feb. 17, 2014, under the title: ‘Israeli army veterans admit role in massacre of Palestinians in 1948’ — read it and weep as I did.”
He said between May and July Israel has killed 450 Palestinians, including 67 children.
“This bloodletting must stop.”
Prince Turki also called out the differing reactions to the actions of Palestinians and Israelis during the conflict.
“I condemn Western politicians for shedding tears when Israelis are killed by Palestinians, but refuse to even express sorrow when Israelis kill Palestinians.”
