Saudi king condemns Gaza war but not Israel

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah condemns the war in Gaza as a “collective massacre” and a crime against humanity, but stops short of directly condemning Israel for its ground campaign against Hamas.

Unlike past Gaza wars, including the devastating 2008 offensive Operation Cast Lead, the Saudi monarch did not condemn Israel outright for the conflict, which officials say has killed at least 1,500 Palestinians, hundreds of them gunmen according to Israel, since it began on July 8. Israel says 63 of its soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been also killed.

Instead King Abdullah appears to suggest that both Israel and Hamas were responsible, saying that the violence in Gaza has led to “various forms” of terrorism whether from groups, organizations or states.

“All of this is happening while the international community is watching silently with all its institutions and organizations, including human rights organizations,” he said in prepared remarks read out by a presenter on state television. “This silence has no justification.”

But the king did not call for any specific action to be taken against Israel in his remarks.

The 90 year-old monarch’s apparent balancing act is indicative of the recent shift in regional politics, where Egypt’s leadership and other states opposed to Islamist parties have cracked down on groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which spawned Hamas. They have also warned their citizens against joining radical Jihadi groups running rampant in places like Iraq and Syria.

— AP, Times of Israel staff