Israel’s intensifying war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas has prompted many US-allied Arab countries to worry about their own security.
The blame game over the explosion at the Gaza hospital that Palestinian officials said left hundreds dead highlights the dilemma of those nations that have made peace with Israel or were in the process of doing so.
They are struggling to balance international demands to condemn Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel and killing of at least 1,400 people with the massive sympathy among their citizens for the group regarded as a symbol of Palestinian resistance.
Arab states had hoped Joe Biden’s visit would have a calming effect. Instead, it became too great a liability for the region’s leaders to be seen with the US president after the hospital catastrophe.
As widespread protests ensued, the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority canceled a meeting yesterday with Biden in Jordan. The president risked inflaming the situation further by siding publicly with Israel’s assertion that a Palestinian militant group was responsible for the disaster.
With the US offering words, money and military aid in support of Israel’s right to crush Hamas, many Arab states are now looking for help in deescalating the crisis from China, Europe, Russia, and even Iran, which many consider a foe.
Saudi Arabia was making progress toward normalizing ties with Israel just days before the assault. Yesterday, it blamed Israel for the “heinous crime” at the hospital, and its foreign minister held talks in Jeddah with his counterpart from Iran, which has provided military and financial support for Hamas for decades.
Public outrage in the region is likely to intensify as Israel prepares its full-blown ground offensive in Gaza and Palestinian fatalities — now reportedly around 4,000 — mount.
Leaders in many Arab capitals will be walking a tightrope as they calibrate their international response while worrying about their own stability at home. —Sam Dagher