Palestinians and others in the Middle East see the U.S. as an "enabler" of Israel in its war with Hamas, Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan said Sunday on "Face the Nation".
"People view the U.S. as being a party to this war," Rania said in an interview with "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan. "Because, you know, Israeli officials say that without U.S. support, they couldn't launch this war."
- Transcript: Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan on "Face the Nation," May 5, 2024
Jordan, a U.S. ally, has had a peace treaty with Israel since 1994. The queen, who is of Palestinian descent, has criticized the reaction to the war by the U.S. and other countries, saying there's been a "selective application of humanitarian law" that's causing a "loss of credibility" in the U.S.
"The U.S. may be Israel's most-closest ally, but a good friend holds a friend accountable," she said.
Rania expressed concerns about the conflicting messages coming from the U.S., which has condemned civilian deaths in Gaza while supplying offensive weapons to Israel for use against Palestinians. She called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow aid into Gaza and end the ongoing war, suggesting that the U.S. could help by halting weapon supplies to Israel.
Reflecting on the toll of the war on the Arab world, Queen Rania described Gaza as unrecognizable after nearly seven months of bombardment following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. The Hamas-run Health Ministry reported a death toll of at least 34,000, amid a worsening humanitarian crisis where the distinction between civilian and combatant casualties is blurred.
"The situation has been devastating, with people traumatized by the daily horrors," she remarked. "While the conflict may have originated from Oct. 7, the ongoing warfare cannot be justified as defensive."
Queen Rania emphasized that Hamas does not represent the majority of Gazans and criticized Israel for dehumanizing Palestinians over decades, desensitizing the world to their suffering.
"When you reduce people to a violent people who are different to us — so they're not moral like us, so therefore it's okay to inflict pain and suffering on them because they don't feel it the same way we do — it allows people to do bad things," she said. "That's-that's the mental loophole of dehumanization, it allows you to justify the unjustifiable, to do bad things and still see yourself as a good person."
At the same time, the queen condemned antisemitism, calling it "the worst kind of bigotry" and "pure hatred." And she drew a line between antisemitism and speaking out against the war in Gaza and Israeli policy.
Her interview comes as President Biden is set to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan this week. The administration is also facing a deadline to provide Congress with a determination of whether Israel is using American weapons in accordance with international law in the coming days.
