Watan-The Saudi newspaper “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” sparked widespread Arab anger that was reflected on social media platforms after it published a report that followers affirmed “promotes Zionist lies and offers cheap justification for their crimes at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.”
The newspaper published a report by journalist “Kifah Zaboun” titled: “Al-Shifa Defies, and Qassam Leaders Take Refuge in It”, despite previous and longstanding denials from Hamas movement, Qassam leaders, and Palestinian officials with evidence of their presence within hospitals and vital facilities in the Gaza Strip.
While the Israeli occupation committed brutal crimes against women, children, and the elderly, the Saudi newspaper’s report adopted Israel’s narrative and even misled the facts by publishing false claims about Hamas, the military wing of Hamas movement.
The Middle East newspaper reaches the “peak of debauchery”
With shocking details and lies, activists confirmed that it reached the peak of debauchery when the report mentioned Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza: “Violent clashes erupted within the complex with leaders of the Qassam Brigades demanding surrender, as clashes also took place outside.”
Followers reacted with widespread anger to the lies in the report, confirming that the newspaper in general, as well as Saudi-affiliated media supported by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is no stranger to reports leaning towards Zionism but not at this low and degraded level, according to many descriptions.
Journalist Sherine Arafa, who shared a screenshot of the article, commented on it on the X platform: “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Saudi newspaper promotes Zionist lies and offers cheap justification for the massacre of Al-Shifa Hospital!!!”
تخيل لا قدر الله أن #السعودية تعرضت لاحتلال، وتخيل ان قوة الاحتلال حاصرت مستشفى ما لتخرج صحيفة فلسطينية تقول: قيادات السعودية تعاند وتتحصن بالمستشفى.
أي عهر وصله النظام السعودي وإعلامه؟ فحتى الإعلام الصهيوني لم يؤكد هذه المعلومة وما شاهدناه جثث لمئات من أطفال ونساء وشيوخ ومرضى.… pic.twitter.com/uyHBJc5qlS
— Nezam Mahdawi نظام المهداوي (@NezamMahdawi) April 2, 2024
Arafa added in her tweet and comment on the “audacious” Middle East report: “The Arab newspaper is participating in the genocide of Palestinians by providing false propaganda cover for the occupation’s crimes!”
The journalist continued: “I understand that the Saudi regime wants to normalize relations with the Zionist entity after the end of the war, but is this a justification for Saudi media (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al Arabiya channel) to participate in the genocide of Palestinians happening today?!!”
The period that bewilders the Arabs’ history
Sherine concluded her tweet by saying: “Historians will stand for a long time trying to understand that most bewildering period in the history of Arabs and Muslims, may God help us.”
The writer emphasized that there is a “strange insistence on beautifying the face of the criminal occupation, which has shown brutality and savagery criticized even by the Israeli media,” wondering: “Is this reasonable, and who are the ones running these newspapers and channels? Are they Arabs? Are they Muslims?”
What if Riyadh were Gaza instead?
On the other hand, Palestinian journalist and editor-in-chief of the “Watan” website, Nizam Al-Mahdawi, commented on the report with a tweet on his X account, condemning the newspaper and condemning Saudi Arabia, which supports it.
Al-Mahdawi said: “Imagine, God forbid, that Saudi Arabia was occupied, and imagine that the occupation forces besieged a hospital to come out with a Palestinian newspaper saying: Saudi leaders defy and take refuge in the hospital.”
مُفزع وصادم لأبعد الحدود …
صحيفة الشرق الأوسط السعودية، تروج لأكاذيب الصهاينة، وتقدم تبريرا رخيصا لمذبحة #مستشفى_الشفاء !!!
الصحيفة العربية، تشارك في إبادة الفلسطينيين بتقديم الغطاء الدعائي الكاذب لجرائم الاحتلال!
أفهم أن النظام السعودي يريد تطبيع العلاقات مع الكيان… pic.twitter.com/YsEOAULX3g
— شيرين عرفة (@shirinarafah) April 2, 2024
The Palestinian journalist added, commenting: “What level of debauchery has the Saudi regime and its media reached? Even the Zionist media did not confirm this information, and what we saw were hundreds of bodies of children, women, elderly, and patients. Mohammed bin Salman is another Zionist face ruling the land of the Two Holy Mosques, O Muslims.”
Arab followers had called for Arab governments to follow Sudan’s lead in stopping the broadcasting of Saudi and Emirati media outlets such as Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, and Sky News due to their misinformation and lack of transparency in their coverage of events, confirming that it is a late step that all Arab countries should follow.