DayofPal– Various Arab rulers asked the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to destroy Gaza resistance tunnels and Hamas citing the group’s deep-rooted connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to US investigative journalist Bob Woodward.
Woodward published mid-October 2024 a new book titled ‘War’, in which he reveales a surprising behind-the-scenes details of successive meetings held between Blinken and several Arab rulers shortly after October 7, 2023, as Israel’s war against Hamas and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza was getting underway.
He detailed how several Arab leaders urged the United States to take decisive action against Hamas, shedding light on the critical discussions that unfolded between Antony Blinken and these leaders during a time when Israel’s military operations against Gaza population intensified and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalated.
Woodward stated that all interviews for his book were conducted under the “deep background” rule, allowing him to use the information provided without disclosing the identities of his sources.
In the book, Woodward said that when Blinken met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman on 13 October 2023, the king demanded that Israel should eradicate Hamas.
The king said, “We told Israel not to do this, we told them not to trust Hamas, Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood, Israel must defeat Hamas. We will not say this publicly, but we support the defeat of Hamas.”
Woodward also added that when Blinken visited the UAE on 14 October 2023 and met with Mohammed bin Zayed, the emir told him, “Hamas must be eliminated. We have repeatedly warned Israel that Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. We can give Israel time to eliminate Hamas, but first, it must help us calm our citizens from the images of violence and destruction in Gaza by bringing in aid, establishing safe zones, and controlling the violence of the settlers in the West Bank. Let it help us with our citizens, and we will give it the space to eliminate Hamas.”
The book says that when Blinken visited Saudi Arabia on 14 October 2023, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told him, “Israel should not have trusted Hamas, and Netanyahu warned us against that repeatedly, because Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The Saudi foreign minister continued, saying, “The terrorist groups are not only trying to eliminate Israel, but they also want to overthrow other Arab leaders. We are concerned about what the Israeli operation will do to all of our security, and what comes after Hamas may be worse.”
Bin Farhan added, “We will not pay a single dollar to rebuild Gaza after the chaos that Netanyahu created.”
The next day, Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who allegedly told him, “I want the problems caused by October 7 to disappear. A Palestinian state must be established before normalization with Israel. I do not want that, but I need it to justify normalization. I want to return to Vision 2030 by normalizing with Israel. Gaza must be calm first for us to normalize with Israel.”
Blinken’s next visit before returning to Israel was in Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Sisi then asked the US delegation to leave so he could meet with Blinken alone. Sisi then allegedly told Blinken that he “only wants to maintain peace with Israel.”
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel then provided the US delegation with important information about the depth and extent of the tunnels under Gaza.
He explained to them that Hamas is entrenched in Gaza and that it will be difficult to eliminate it. “Israel must not enter Gaza all at once but rather do so in stages. It must allow Hamas leaders to emerge from the tunnels before cutting off their heads all at once.”
In a recent show of complicity in the war, German-owned cargo ship MV Kathrin carrying explosives destined for Israel, has docked in the port of Alexandria, Egypt, raising serious concerns among pro-Palestine groups about Egypt’s alleged involvement in supplying military materials to Israel amid its ongoing assault on Gaza.
MarineTaffic confirms the ship is in the North Egyptian port. The ship had been sailing for over two months, repeatedly turned away by various Asian, African and European ports after it was found to be transporting military explosives.
Israel’s Genocidal war in Gaza since October 2024, with complicity of Arab and western states, has resulted in the killing of 43,314 Gazans, including 17000 children, and the injury of 102,019 with more than 10,000 still missing under the rubble, according to Gaza Ministry of Health.
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