Saudi Newspaper: End Hamas Reign of Terror in Gaza

The Saudi Okaz newspaper penned a fierce editorial that slammed Hamas, accusing the group of carrying out terror attacks using money supplied by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

“Hamas is responsible [for] a double portion of disloyalty to Gazans,” the editorial said. “Not only does it do nothing to help Gazans, it takes money donated to it for that purpose to dig terror tunnels. In the past three years Hamas has taken $120 million meant for Gazans and used it for their intensive terror tunnel-building campaign.”

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have declared that they are cutting off ties with Qatar, due to its support of terror groups.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states imposed additional sanctions on Qatar, banning 12 organizations and declaring 59 individuals persona non grata for their terror activities. Among those is Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas’s “parent” organization.

Qatar has long been accused of funding international terror groups as a defense strategy, essentially paying “protection” money to international terror groups in order to ensure that they are not attacked, former IDF General and National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror said on Army Radio.

“They provide funding for the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and other groups, as well as Al-Jazeera,” which many moderate Arab countries have accused of glorifying terror groups, including al Qaeda, which have targeted Arab countries, he added.

According to Okaz, Hamas has been holding Gazans hostage in order to perpetuate its terror attacks. “Instead of criticizing the declarations by the Saudis and Gulf state ministers about terror, Hamas should be busy alleviating the disaster they have brought upon Gaza.” Hamas, in fact, is guilty of crimes worse than Islamic State, which “murders people quickly face to face, unlike Hamas, which murders little by little. They are using the money given by the Saudis and Gulf states to fund the terror attacks ordered by Iran.”

The solution, said the editorial, is for Arab states to press Hamas to alleviate the suffering of Gazans. “They dig under schools, under hospitals, under homes, with no regard for the lives of Gazans,” the editorial said. “Hamas is using these people as human shields.”