“It is not Israel’s Self-Defence, But A Mass Scale Butchery”; Queen Rania Of Jordan

In a recent CNN interview published on Wednesday, the queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah condemned the killings of civilians in the ongoing Israel-Palestine war, irrespective of which side the dead belong to. Ms Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents and is now the wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Speaking to CNN’s (Cable News Network) Christiane Amanpour, the queen also accused the western leaders and media for keeping a “double standard” on the deaths of civilians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

On the arguments of ‘Israel’s self-defence’, the queen lashes out with the numbers of dead – around 6,000 had been killed in the war and among them at least 2,400 children – “how is that self-defence”, she asked. “We are seeing butchery at a mass scale using precision weapons”, she added. The war, as it enters day 19 on Wednesday has already expanded to the level of a humanitarian catastrophe accompanied by deteriorated international laws and intolerable death count, leaving another bulk in the wounded category on both the sides.

According to the queen, the western nations – primarily US and its allies – are in fear of a cross border expansion of the war, as the conflict already threatens to destabilize relations between the US and the Arab Countries. She termed the destiny of each Palestinian mother who had to write the names of their children on their hands as an identification process, since chances are high these kids get murdered in the war, as “unbelievable”.  She reminded the world that “Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world do”.

The queen also made a clarification that the conflict is not something that begin on October 7, even though most media are covering it thus. As she claims, for many Palestinians war hasn’t left them from many years and for them this is a 75 year old story – “the story of overwhelming death and displacement of the Palestinian people”.

The queen said that the whole Middle East are “shocked and disappointed” by the world’s reaction on the war, which she termed as a catastrophe. She bravely charged the glaring double standard the world has been keeping on the war. As she says, when the October 7 unprecedented attack by Hamas was launched on the Israel, the world unanimously stood with Israel. The leaders condemned the attack by Hamas and raised Israel’s right to defend itself from any form of strike on the country. She expressed her shock as these countries suddenly stopped to express their concerns over the rising casualties from October 7 – “this is the first time in the modern history that there is such human suffering and the world not even calling for a ceasefire”.

Major standpoints by the queen:

• Many of the western world are not just tolerating the war, but aiding and abetting it. And this is deeply disappointed.
• Jordan has made it’s position very clear – We condemn the killing of any civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli’s. It is based on Jordan’s ethical position and Islam also condemns killing of civilians.
• This is not something happened from October 7 – For many of the Palestinians it is a 75-year-old story. War hasn’t left them anywhere for so many years.
• For Palestinians, war is a story of an occupation under an apartheid regime that occupies land, demolishes houses, military incursions, and night raids.
• The context of a nuclear armed regional super-power, that occupies and oppresses and committed daily documented crimes against Palestinians is missing from the narrative.
• This is about choosing the everyday people on both the sides.
• The Palestinians for too long have been living under oppression and dehumanization. They suffer daily indignities and human rights violations. They do not have freedom of movement. There are over 500 checkpoints scattered all over the West Bank. There is a separation wall which is deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, that has separated the territory to 200 disconnected enclaves.
• This is the condition of Hamas before the war and after the war. And the war is thus for freedom and justice.
• Every country, and people has the right to defend themselves, but not through war or crimes.
• Around 6,000 had been killed in the war and among them at least 2,400 children. How is that self-defence of Israel. We are seeing butchery at a mass scale using precision weapons.
• Indiscriminate bombarding of Gaza had wiped out many residential neighbourhoods, targeting schools, churches, and mosques, medical workers, journalists – How is that self-defence?
• In this war, one is an occupier and the other is the occupied, one has a mighty military and the other doesn’t have it. So there is a false symmetry drawn between them here.