What color is the blood of Gazans?

TEHRAN,Nov.17(MNA)--For the first time since the start of the Gaza blockade in 2007 and four years after Israel’s war on the tiny strip of land, Qatari Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani recently visited the area in an ostensibly humanitarian gesture, which was actually meant to improve his image and make it appear that he is a supporter of the Palestinian cause. The trip, which was apparently coordinated with the Israeli security forces, was criticized inside and outside the region, although officials in Gaza, including Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, expressed appreciation of Hamad’s move and called him a “supporter of the Palestinian resistance” and the “leader of the Arab world.” However, since the start of Israel’s latest onslaught on the civilian population of Gaza, many people in the region have asked: What exactly is the Qatari emir’s position on the resistance and how will he respond to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza? It is quite clear that Hamad visited Gaza to cover up his role in crises in the Middle East, and especially his funding and arming of terrorist groups in Syria, which has led to the death of thousands of people. Qatar also has a clear record of serving the interests of the United States and Israel in the region, and alongside Saudi Arabia, the Qataris have made every effort to help the U.S. manage the volatile situation in the region since the start of the Arab Spring. Arab rulers’ deafening silence on Israel’s recent attacks on Gaza seems like déjà vu, since they responded in the same way to the massacre of innocent Palestinians during the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war. And everyone is now waiting to hear something in support of the Palestinians coming from Doha, where the emir and his allies hold daily meetings, allegedly to support the Syrian people! Is there any difference between the color of the blood of Syrians and Palestinians? Isn’t Israel’s shameless slaughter of defenseless Palestinians in Gaza the exact opposite of the peace and freedom that Qatar and its allies claim they want for Syria? Why are the Qataris remaining silent about the plight of the Gazans but duplicitously claiming they feel the pain of the Syrian people? They don’t mince their words in declaring their unequivocal support for the armed terrorists in Syria. The escalation of the crisis in Gaza in the coming days will reveal the true nature of the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey and the hypocrisy of their claims about being supporters of Palestine. And the cries of the women and children in Gaza will prove that these countries’ raison d’être is to support Israel and not the Palestinians. Mojtaba Sadeghian is a Tehran Times columnist who is a member of the editorial department of the daily. (By Mojtaba Sadeghian)