On 11th October, Congress leader Dr Shama Mohamed tried instigating Muslim countries against India for its stand against terrorist attacks on Israel. In a post on X, she dog whistled the Arab countries against the Modi government amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. She insinuated that if the Modi government did not show any solidarity with the Palestinian cause, it would damage the relationships between India and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran and Egypt.
What Hamas did in Israel is highly condemnable. That being said, Arab countries have noticed the silence of the Modi govt on showing any solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) October 11, 2023
At least 3 diplomats from the Arab countries, including an ambassador, said they were expecting a more…
She wrote, “What Hamas did in Israel is highly condemnable. That being said, Arab countries have noticed the silence of the Modi govt on showing any solidarity with the Palestinian cause. At least 3 diplomats from the Arab countries, including an ambassador, said they were expecting a more balanced and nuanced statement from India. India has deep ties with Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Iran and Egypt, built over decades. The BJP govt now risks damaging them irreparably. Congress leader tries instigating Muslim countries against India for its stand against terrorist attack on Israel.”
Notably, Shama’s statement came at a time when Hamas’ leader called for “global Jihad” on 13th October. Khalid Mashal, leader and founding member of Hamas, urged Muslims worldwide to initiate “Global Jihad”. He also asked for donations donning them as “Financial Jihad” so that Hamas could continue the war against Israel. He urged them to express anger and protest on “the Friday of Al-Aqsa flood” to send a message to Israel and its allies. Mashal called for political pressure from Muslim leaders and nations to stop Israel’s military attack on Gaza. Most significantly, he called for Muslims to engage in physical Jihad, asking them to be willing to fight and potentially give their lives for Al-Aqsa.
Khalid Mashal the leader and founding member of Hamas gave a speech today asking Muslims all around the world to do the following:⁰⁰1. To show anger, especially next Friday, in Muslim countries and Also among Muslim diaspora around the world; he called it “the Friday of Al-Aqsa… pic.twitter.com/koJ42DRFMy
— Brother Rachid الأخ رشيد (@BrotherRasheed) October 11, 2023
Qatar is accused of funding Hamas
It is interesting to note that Shama mentioned Qatar, a country on the net, for potentially funding and/or aiding Hamas from time to time. Qatar, a U.S. ally, has been accused of supporting Hamas, a designated Palestinian terror organisation, in an attempt to help establish peace between Israel and Palestine. This support has raised concerns due to Qatar’s past of providing financial assistance to different extremist groups.
Khaled Meeshal, the former leader of Hamas, resided in Qatar for a long time and held press conferences on behalf of terror organisations there. In May 2021, Qatar pledged $500 million to rebuild the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip during heightened tensions between Palestine and Israel, once again drawing attention to Qatar’s financial support for Hamas and other international terrorist organisations. Qatar’s involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict is part of its broader geopolitical strategy in the Middle East.
Egypt has normalised its relationship with Israel
While Shama mentioned Egypt, she conveniently missed that Egypt has normalised relationships with Israel since 1980 under a peace treaty. The country has been a mediator between Israel and Hamas several times to ensure peace in the region. Reacting to the terror attack by Hamas and counter-attack by Israel, Egypt called for exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger”. Egypt currently fears an influx of refugees from Palestine, which would be bad for its economy and has closed the Rafah crossing to avoid exodus.
UAE avoided direct criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza
Among the list of countries, Shama mentioned UAE, a country that has called for peace and revival of a normalised relationship between Arab countries and Israel. The United Arab Emirates expressed a deep concern about the recent escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine and called for an immediate end to the conflict to safeguard civilians. The UAE has extended condolences to all the victims of the conflict and urged the international Quartet to work towards promoting peace between Arab and Israeli communities. They have also urged the global community to achieve a comprehensive and fair peace agreement and prevent further violence and instability in the region.
In addition, the UAE condemned Hamas’ attack, considering it a serious escalation, and expressed dismay towards the reports of Israeli civilians being taken as hostages. They emphasised protecting Israeli and Palestinian civilians under international humanitarian law. The UAE maintained a balanced approach by expressing its concerns while avoiding direct criticism towards Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Though Saudi Arabia and Iran have sided more with Palestine in the matter, it is important to note that in most of the cases where countries go head-on with each other, India prefers to form a neutral stand. However, in the case of the Israel-Hamas war, the matter is complicated. While India has supported the Palestinian cause in the past and vouched for the two-nation theory to ensure peace in the region, this time, no word has been spoken on the Palestinian cause. India has unequivocally condemned the terrorist attack in Israel while not naming Palestine.
Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organisation, killed over 1,200 Israelis, including 150+ soldiers, women, elderly and children on a Jewish holiday. Several foreign nationals were killed or abducted by Hamas terrorists. Israeli forces are still discovering bodies, some of them were charred to death. Burnt houses, dead families and ruined villages show how horrendous the attack was. Expecting India to side with Palestine at such a time for some brownie points from the Arab countries is not what India stands for. In fact, India’s reaction has been similar to what most of the powerful world leaders were for the attack on Israel.
