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Illegal Israeli occupation root cause of the conflict in Palestine: Queen Rania of Jordan

In a detailed interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, Queen Rania also responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's rejection of a ceasefire. Read More

Tuesday November 7, 2023 9:56 AM, ummid.com News Network

Illegal Israeli occupation root cause of the conflict in Palestine: Queen Rania of Jordan

Amman: Queen Rania of Jordan for the second time in two seeks blamed the occupation of Palestinian territories and the violent policy of the Zionist regime in Israel as the key reason behind the present situation in the Middle East.

Pointing out at the repeated calls by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of his cabinet to crush Palestinian Resistance Movement, Queen Rania said the mission for which they are fighting will remain forever if the root cause of the problem is left unresolved.

“If (Israel) manage to eliminate all of Hamas, the root cause of this conflict is its illegal occupation, routine human rights abuses, illegal settlements, disregard to UN resolutions and international law”, she said.

Also Read | Never forget, Israel began killing Palestinians 39 years before Hamas was born

“If we do not address the root causes, you can kill the combatant but you cannot kill the cause”, she added.

In a detailed interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, Queen Rania also responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's rejection of a ceasefire who after meeting Arab leaders in Amman Saturday said a ceasefire in Gaza would only enable more Hamas attacks.

Queen Rania without mincing words said those who are opposed a truce were “endorsing and justifying the death of thousands of civilians” at the same time urging a collective call for end to war and ceasefire in Gaza.

“There has to be a collective call for a ceasefire and I know some who are against a ceasefire argue that it will help Hamas. However, in that argument they are inherently dismissing the death, and in fact endorsing and justifying the death of thousands of civilians. That is just morally reprehensible, short-sighted and not entirely rational”, the Queen said.

Queen Rania denounced the “catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Gaza, and asked: “How many more people have to die before our global conscience awakes? Or is it forever dormant when it comes to the Palestinians?”

"WCNSF new acronym in Gaza"

She noted that there had been nearly 10,000 deaths in Gaza since the war began, almost half of them children.

“These are not just numbers. Each one of these children was somebody’s everything,” she said.

Also Read | In rare joint call, UN agency chiefs ask Israel to stop Gaza massacre

“There’s an acronym in Gaza, W.C.N.S.F.: Wounded Child with No Surviving Family. That’s an acronym that should never exist, but it does exist in Gaza", she added.

When asked about Israel’s claims that civilians were being used as human shields, Queen Rania stressed that while the use of human shields was “criminal,” under international law, Israel had a responsibility to avoid civilian deaths.

“Before firing any bullet, before dropping any bomb, it is the responsibility of the nation to weigh the risk to civilian life. And if that risk is disproportionate to the military target, then it is deemed unlawful,” Queen Rania said.

Raising doubts over the exact purpose of Israel’s evacuation orders that are issued online or on television, the Queen said she does not believe that these orders are for the benefit of the Gaza civilians, given the fact that electricity in the Gaza Strip has been cut off for weeks.

“They are not the target audience; the rest of the world is. It is Israel's attempt to try to legitimize their actions,” she said.

Also Watch | Protests mount against Netanyahu as 60 hostages killed in Israeli bombing

“When 1.1 million people are asked to leave their homes or risk death that is not protection of civilians. That is forced displacement,” she said.

UN agencies and other agencies have said that there is no safe place in Gaza. And even the areas that they have asked people to seek refuge in – those so-called ‘safe zones’ – they have been attacked as well", she said.

In response to a question on rising bigotry in the United States against both Jewish and Muslim people, the Queen “absolutely and wholeheartedly” condemned both antisemitism and Islamophobia, adding that Muslims should be the first to condemn antisemitism as Islamophobia is “the other side of the same disease.”

“We have had a long history of peaceful coexistence. So this is not about religion. It is about politics,” she said.

Queen Rania spoke with CNN in a lengthy interview for the second time in two weeks. Talking to the same broadcaster on October 24, she had condemned as “butchery” committed by Israeli forces in Gaza Strip in the name of “self-defence”.

 

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