As Israeli forces ramped up airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, Queen Rania of Jordan accused the Western leaders of a “glaring double standard” over failing to call for a ceasefire.
During an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Queen Rania on Tuesday said, “The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding.”
“In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a glaring double standard in the world. When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attack that happened.”
“But what we’re seeing in the last couple of weeks, we’re seeing silence in the world,” she said.
“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Queen Rania adds.
“So the silence is deafening – and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit.
“Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it’s OK to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here. It is just shocking to the Arab world,” she added.
“As a mom, we’ve seen Palestinian mothers who have to write the names of their children on their hands – because the chances of them being shelled to death, of their bodies turning into corpses, are so high,” Rania continues.
“I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world.”
The Queen argued that Israel is committing atrocities under the guise of self-defence, requiring the rules of engagement to apply to all sides.
Israel rejects calls for ceasefire in Gaza
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen rejected the proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during a speech to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in response to Hamas’ surprise attacks on Saturday, October 7, which killed 1,400 Israelis and resulted in over 6,500 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
“Tell me, what is a proportionate response for the killing of babies, for rape (of) women and burning them, for beheading a child? How can you agree to a cease-fire with someone who swore to kill and destroy your own existence?” Cohen asked.
Cohen emphasized the October 7 attacks as a call to action against extremism and urged the civilized world to unite behind Israel in defeating Hamas.
Cohen also accused Qatar of financing Hamas and claimed Qatar’s emir was responsible for the fate of over 200 Israeli hostages, some of whose families attended the UN meeting.
