Israel War/ Jordan Queen lambasts West's 'double standards' for ignoring Gaza's plight, not calling ceasefire

Amid the Israel-Hamas war, Queen Raina of Jordan called out the “double standards” of the Western leaders as the death toll in Gaza continues to soar. The Jordan Queen slammed the West for condemning the deaths of Israeli civilians yet failed to fully acknowledge the plight of the innocent Gazan civilians who died in the catastrophic conflict. Following the October 7 massacre conducted by Hamas, Israel declared a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, leaving over 1 million civilians in complete disarray.

“The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, 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,” The Queen of Jordan told CNN in an exclusive interview. “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 added. 

Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave managed to kill more than 1,400 Israelis and took over 200 people hostage. In response to this, the Israeli Defense unleashed relentless airstrikes over the densely populated Strip. The Netanyahu administration eventually announced a complete blockade of vital supplies in the region urging over a million Gazans to evacuate the northern part of the strip.

During the intense conversation, Queen Rania lashed out at West for not calling a “ceasefire” to prevent the escalation of the war. “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 averred. “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,” she added.

Arab world’s growing frustration with the West

During the interview, Jordan Queen shared the plight of Palestinian mothers and insisted that the mothers of Gaza love their children just as much as any other mother in the world. “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 said. “I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world,” she added. Just like Queen Rania, the Arab leaders have voiced frustration over the unwillingness of countries like the US to curb Israel’s siege.

In light of the current situation, countries like Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority cancelled the planned summit in Jordan with US President Joe Biden last week. Meanwhile, the White House has made it clear that they are not delving into the possibility of a “ceasefire” under the current scenario. “We’re not talking about a ceasefire right now,” White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told CNN on Monday. “In fact, we don’t believe that this is the time for a ceasefire. Israel has a right to defend themselves. They still have work to do to go after Hamas leadership, we’re going to keep supporting them or giving them more security assistance,” he furthered.