Arab Leaders, Viewing Hamas as Worse Than Israel, Stay Silent

[question everything]

CAIRO — Battling Palestinian militants in Gaza two years ago, Israel found itself pressed from all sides by unfriendly Arab neighbors to end the fighting.

Not this time.

After the military ouster of the Islamist government in Cairo last year, Egypt has led a new coalition of Arab states — including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — that has effectively lined up with Israel in its fight against Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. That, in turn, may have contributed to the failure of the antagonists to reach a negotiated cease-fire even after more than three weeks of bloodshed.

(snip)

The dynamic has inverted all expectations of the Arab Spring uprisings. As recently as 18 months ago, most analysts in Israel, Washington and the Palestinian territories expected the popular uprisings to make the Arab governments more responsive to their citizens, and therefore more sympathetic to the Palestinians and more hostile to Israel.

But instead of becoming more isolated, Israel’s government has emerged for the moment as an unexpected beneficiary of the ensuing tumult, now tacitly supported by the leaders of the resurgent conservative order as an ally in their common fight against political Islam.
Continue reading the main story Egyptian officials have directly or implicitly blamed Hamas instead of Israel for Palestinian deaths in the fighting, even when, for example, United Nations schools have been hit by Israeli shells, something that occurred again on Wednesday.

And the pro-government Egyptian news media has continued to rail against Hamas as a tool of a regional Islamist plot to destabilize Egypt and the region, just as it has since the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood one year ago.

(snip)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/world/middleeast/fighting-political-islam-arab-states-find-themselves-allied-with-israel.html

[King_David]

2. Very interesting

[Rhinodawg]

3. They despise hamas.

Like all normal people should.

Of course no one here supports Hamas...but some seem to ignore hamas war crimes and atrocities.

My, how times have changed.

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. They despite Hamas because they are "the leaders of the resurgent conservative order."

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood supported Hamas. The military coup that unseated the elected MB president has since gone on a campaign of repression--including mass killings in the streets, kangaroo courts imposing death sentences by the hundreds at a time, attacks on the media, mass arrests, including many of the "liberals" who supported the coup--which also includes make life miserable for Hamas, and by extension, the residents of Gaza.

Saudia Arabia and the UAE are rivals of Qatar, which is friendly toward Hamas. That's why Israel had such a hissy fit when Kerry tried to include Qatar and Turkey, another Hamas friend, in the cease fire negotiations.

[Rhinodawg]

6. The expression is funny..."Hamas friend"

That's like "ISIS friend".

"Murderer friend"

[kelliekat44]

4. Israel is not an "unexpected beneficiary" of the Egyptian coup and turmoil.

It all was well planned and supported...with a little help from our intel community. What is going on about the ME the President is kept in the dark about. He is as unknowingly controlled as most of us. "A Clear and Present Danger". The movie more fact than fiction.