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Letters | Arab leaders must condemn Hamas unequivocally for attack on Israel
- Readers discuss the response of Arab states to the violence Hamas unleashed on Israel, and the need for better global leadership
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The news media is full of reports and images of suffering people in the Gaza Strip, victims of Israeli bombings. The images are heart-rending. Many Arab leaders have condemned the bombings in Gaza and focused on the humanitarian crisis.
However, most Arab leaders have refrained from calling out Hamas for the initial, unwarranted attack on Israeli civilians. What was the need for a guerilla attack on civilians in a kibbutz? Humaneness should run both ways, irrespective of nationality or religion.
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Arab leaders need a rethink. They should discourage militant organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah. They need to denounce violence in an unequivocal manner. They must admit the initial attack by Hamas on October 7 was a blunder and unwarranted.
Arab leaders should also put pressure on Hamas to return all the hostages. This will increase their credibility.
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Israel is unlikely to finish off Hamas, despite what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted. Hamas is not merely an organisation. It is an idea – that Israeli land belongs to Palestinians.
Hamas and Palestinians may feel that the land of Israel belongs to them. But did the attack on October 7 helped their cause? The attacks on innocent people have only strengthened Israel’s resolve to vanquish Hamas.
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