Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan told CNN today at there is a “glaring double standard” as the Western world condemns the Hamas attack on October 7 but is not condemning Israel’s bombing of Gaza or calling for a ceasefire.
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview, Queen Rania of Jordan said, “The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a glaring double standard in the world.”
“When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attack that happened… but what we’re seeing in the last couple of weeks, we’re silence in the world,” Queen Rania told CNN.
“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Queen Rania added. “So the silence is deafening – and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit.”
“Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it’s okay to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here,” she said. “It is just shocking to the Arab world.”
Queen Rania also said that the people of Jordan are united in their grief and that she is in disbelief at shocking images coming out of Gaza.
“As a mom, we’ve seen Palestinian mothers who have to write the names of their children on their hands — because the chances of them being shelled to death, of their bodies turning into corpses are so high,” she said. “I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this is just unbelievable.”
On her reaction to the events of the last two weeks:
“I cannot begin to describe to you the depth of the grief, the pain, and the shock that we are feeling here in Jordan. All of us are united in this grief, regardless of our origin. We just can’t believe the images that we’re seeing every single day coming out of Gaza… As a mom, we’ve seen Palestinian mothers who have had to write the names of their children on their hands because the chances of them being shelled to death, of their bodies being turned into corpses, are so high.
I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this is just unbelievable.
Equally, I think the people all around the Middle East – including in Jordan – we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks we have seen a glaring double standard in the world. When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemn the attacks that happened. But what we’re seeing the last couple weeks – we’re seeing silence in the world.
Are we being told that it is wrong to kill an entire family at gunpoint, but it’s ok to shell them to death? There is a glaring double standard here, and it is shocking to the Arab world. This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering, and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire.
The silence is deafening, and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit through their support and through the cover they give to Israel. Many in the Arab world are looking at the Western world as not just tolerating this, but as aiding and abetting it.”
On what she felt on October 7:
“Of course I was shocked. Jordan has made its position very clear: we condemn the killing of any civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. That is Jordan’s ethical and moral position, and it’s also the position of Islam… So this is what we believe are the rules of engagement at a time of war. But they need to apply to everybody.
I just what to emphasize… This conflict did not begin on October 7, although it has been portrayed as that… This is a 75-year-old story. A story of overwhelming death and displacement to the Palestinian people. It is a story of occupation under apartheid regime.”
“There is a hyper fixation on Hamas now because of what happened in the last couple of weeks, but this is a problem that far precedes Hamas and will continue after Hamas. This is a fight for freedom and for justice, and that is what needs to be heard.”
On whether she believes Hamas’ attacks brought this latest violence to the people of Gaza:
“I do not believe in the killing of civilians. This is the story of violence that has been going on now for so long. And this violence needs to be condemned. What people need to understand, is that under the guise of the right to defend itself we are witnessing atrocities. Every country has the right to defend itself – but not through any means. Not through war crimes. Not through collective punishment… We are seeing butchery on a mass scale, using precision weapons. So for the past two weeks, we have seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza. Entire families wiped out, residential neighbourhoods flattened to the ground, the targeting of hospitals and schools and churches and mosques… How is that self defense? Why is it that whenever Israel commits these atrocities it comes under the banner of self defense, but when there’s violence by Palestinians it is immediately called terrorism? Is the word terrorist reserved exclusively for Muslims and Arabs?”
On the international response she’s seeing:
“It has been very disappointing to see the double standard in the world today. To see the strong condemnation of what happened on October 7 but very little condemnation of what is happening today. Why isn’t there a call for immediate ceasefire? We are seeing staggering human suffering happening today. Why is the narrative always skewed towards the Israeli side? The Western media and policymakers are quick to adopt the Israeli narrative.”
“I have never seen a Western official say the sentence, ‘Palestinians have the right to defend themselves.’ We are seeing this even in Western democracies – freedom of speech is apparently a universal value, except when you mention Palestine.”
On the issue of Palestinian refugees:
“The people in Gaza now are facing two choices: either they leave, or they face death or collective punishment. So essentially they are given a choice between expulsion or extermination, between ethnic cleansing and genocide. And no people should have to face that kind of choice. The people of Palestine, of Gaza, should not be forced to move again. Most of the residents of Gaza are already refugees… We do not want another mass displacement of Palestinians like what happened in 1948. The Palestinians have the right to remain on their land.”
On whether she is concerned about this escalating into wider instability:
“You would be concerned if there was division, but we are absolutely united in our stance. We all believe in the same thing, we are all feeling the same pain… So there is a lot of unity in the Arab world.
You are seeing these double standards and it’s creating a lot of disillusionment in the Arab world and in many who are just seeing the injustice.
I want to emphasize, at the end of the day, there is no military solution to this issue. Wars are never won – there are always losses on all sides… Even if Israel goes and kills every last Hamas member. Then what? Haven’t they left a trail of terrible, horrific memories that will just create a new generation of resistance that is fiercer and more violent? Because at the end of the day, you can only have a political resolution to this.
Even if you are an ally to Israel, you are doing it no service by giving it blind support.
There can never be a resolution except around a negotiating table. There is only one path to this and that is a free, sovereign, and independent Palestinian state living side by side, in peace and security, with the state of Israel.”
