Jordan’s Queen Rania says ‘anti-Semitism has been used as a weapon to stifle criticism of Israel’ and says ‘being pro-Palestine does not mean being pro-Hamas’

Queen Rania of Jordan has again criticized the IDF’s incessant bombing of Gaza and stated that Israel’s supporters are trying to undermine criticism of Tel Aviv’s actions by accusing critics of being anti-Semitic.

“What we have seen in recent years is the accusation that anti-Semitism is being used as a weapon to silence any criticism of Israel,” Jordan’s Queen Consort, whose parents were born in Palestine, told CNN.

“Supporters of Israel who cannot defend Israel’s actions or behavior return to shutting down the conversation by equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.

“Let me be very clear: being pro-Palestinian does not mean being anti-Semitic. Being pro-Palestinian does not mean being pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism.

“I think Israel deserves more from its allies than just unequivocal support, I think it deserves some uncomfortable truths, because if you are a true friend, you support your friend when he is right, but you also tell him when he is wrong.” crossed the border. she concluded.

Rania’s comments come as the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza claimed that more than 10,000 Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli airstrikes – an average of almost 350 people a day since October 7.

More than 4,000 of the 10,022 registered victims were under the age of 18, the ministry said, adding that more than 200 people were killed overnight in brutal bombings carried out by IDF warplanes as ground forces surrounded Gaza City, prior of an impending attack.

Queen Rania’s latest statement follows previous comments in which she said there is a “flanking double standard” around the world when it comes to sympathy for the victims of the war.

She made a brief concession that she “of course” condemned the murder of Israeli civilians by Hamas, but mainly spoke of the need for more support for the Palestinians and a stop to Israeli ground attacks.

“Are we being told that it’s wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it’s okay to shoot them dead?” I mean, there’s a blatant double standard here,” she said.

Rania, born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents and raised in the West Bank, raged against the “apartheid regime” Israel in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour last month.

“These are the rules of war and they should apply to everyone. Yes, there is the shock and there was the condemnation [towards Hamas]. But why is there no equal condemnation for what is happening now?

“Even if Israel defeats every last Hamas member, what then? Have they not left behind a trail of terrible memories that will spark a new generation of resistance, more fierce and violent?’

Amanpour asked the 53-year-old queen how she had felt since the October 7 Hamas attack “as an Arab, as a Palestinian, as a mother, as a human being.”

Rania replied: “I cannot describe the depth of sadness, pain and shock we feel here in Jordan.

She said her country, home to the world’s largest Palestinian population, was “united in grief, regardless of our origins.”

“I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children as much as any other mother in the world,” she added in the interview aired on October 25.

“Six thousand civilians killed so far, 2,400 children – how is that self-defense? We are seeing large-scale massacres using precision weapons.

“I just want to emphasize that this conflict did not start on October 7, even if it is portrayed that way,” Rania continued.

“You know, most networks run the story under the title Israel at War. But for many Palestinians on the other side of the separation barrier and on the other side of the barbed wire, the war has never gone away.”

“This is a 75-year-old story – a story of overwhelming death and displacement for the Palestinian people.

‘It’s a story about an occupation under an apartheid regime that occupies land, demolishes houses, confiscates land, military raids, night raids.

“You know, the context of a nuclear-armed regional superpower occupying, oppressing, and committing daily documented crimes against Palestinians is missing from the story,” she concluded.

Critics say Israel’s attacks on Gaza are often disproportionate given the large number of civilians killed – but IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus was today resolute in his justification for the brutal attack on the Gaza Strip.

“We will take the fight to Hamas wherever they are: underground, above ground. “We will be able to dismantle Hamas, stronghold by stronghold, battalion by battalion, until we achieve the ultimate goal, which is to rid the Gaza Strip – the entire Gaza Strip – of Hamas,” he said.

According to the Israeli press, troops will now enter Gaza City within 48 hours – an operation that would mark a new chapter in the conflict that began almost a month ago when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel and massacred 1,400 people.

Israel has also accused Hamas of war crimes and unveiled new evidence it says shows the terror group is using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as military bases while preventing civilians from escaping.

At the Sheikh Hamad Hospital, known as the ‘Qatari’ Hospital, Admiral Hagari showed what he said was photo evidence of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli forces.

Hagari said Hamas is operating from the hospital because they know the IDF cannot launch an airstrike against them without causing collateral damage.

“Hamas is weak without human shields,” he said.