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Turki Al Faisal, a former senior government official of Saudi Arabia who once headed the Kingdom’s intelligence unit, made a reference to India’s Independence movement during his take on the current Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In an address at the Baker Institute in the United States earlier this week, Faisal could be heard condemning both Israel and Hamas, while noting suggesting that the way forward for the Palestinian cause should be through the way of civil disobedience that brought down the British empire in India.
“I do not support the military option in Palestine. I prefer the other option: civil insurrection and disobedience. It brought down the British empire in India and the Soviet empire in eastern Europe,” he said.
Hamas fighters, in several raids carried out in the early hours of October 7 in southern Israel, ended up killing scores of Israeli solders. Their assault, condemned as “terrorist attack” by several world leaders, also led to the death of civilians.
“I categorically condemn Hamas’ targeting of civilian targets of any age or gender as it is accused of. Such targeting belies Hamas’ claims to an Islamic identity,” Faisal said, adding that Islam prohibits the targeting of innocent civilians, children, women and elderly even in a state of war.
The attack by Hamas has given “the high moral ground to an Israeli government that is universally shunned”, the Saudi prince said, adding that it has also given this Israeli government “the excuse to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its citizens and bombing them to oblivion”.
Furthermore, Faisal claimed that the Hamas attack has also sabotaged Saudi Arabia’s attempt to move towards a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine row.
The Saudi leader, however, minced no words in condemning the West for saying that the Hamas attack was totally unprovoked. “What more provocation is required to make it provoked than what Israel has done to the Palestinian people for three-quarters of a century?” he said, adding that Israeli forces have been killings Palestinians in a targeted manner, jailing civilians and stealing Palestinian lands.
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Updated: 22 Oct 2023, 06:24 PM IST
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