The Arab Media Discourse Following the October 7 Attacks

Author
Dr. Tom Sharon analyzes the sympathetic discourse in Arab Media towards the October 7 attack and the 'Da'eshification' of Hamas. This article is part of "The Struggle for Stability: Arab Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War", a joint MDC/KAS publication surveys conservative Arab reactions to the war, focusing on emerging trends and preliminary reactions to the war's first 3-4 months (October 2023-January 2024).
Date

In the weeks that followed Hamas’ brutal October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, one can find rhetoric, narratives, and descriptions in the Arab media that express clear support for and identification with the attacks. The actions were characterized as legitimate acts of resistance and accompanied by expressions of mockery and joy as "Israel’s September 11" [a reference to al-QaꜤida’s attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon in the United States on September 11, 2001]. The coverage in the Arab media spread lies about the details of Hamas' operation and rejected Israeli eyewitness testimony from the sites of the horror. The coverage also included detailed reports defending and justifying Hamas' brutality.

Given the "Da'eshization" ("Da'esh" is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State or ISIS) of Hamas' brutal acts and propaganda, which adopted the style of the Islamic State's "Hollywood of Jihad" high quality productions – it is worth noting the different approaches in the Arab Media discourse: While ISIS brutal acts criticized and harshly condemned by leading Arab media figures and writes, the same atrocities made by Hamas received sympathetic expressions, support and justification in the same Arab media outlets.

Following the beginning of Israel's military campaign against Hamas at the end of October, the Arab media's coverage of Israel's response has entirely supplanted Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks as the main focus of its coverage. The Arab media compares Israeli actions to the Holocaust and criticizes the international community and the West for their staunch support for Israel. The coverage focuses on leveling accusations against Israel, such as, the disproportionate or indiscriminate use of force against civilians; murdering children; committing a "second Nakba" against the residents of Gaza; and "exploiting the opportunity" to fulfill its long-standing plan to reoccupy Gaza and expel thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

There are also prominent articles that praise Hamas for the attacks and argue that the Israeli response justifies the murder of Zionists and provides an opportunity for additional attacks. For example, the Moroccan journalist, Abd al-Salam Benaissa, called for Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas' military wing, to receive the rank of Marshal, which in many armies the highest rank in the military, for the planning and execution of the October 7 attacks. A Palestinian writer, Khaled Shaham, claimed the attacks have produced the current Arab generation’s brightest days. A Jordanian writer, Sands al-Kisi, wrote that the "Palestinian resistance breathed life into the spirit of all Arabs, when it shattered the myth of Israeli supremacy." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was described as "a wounded animal," as a metaphor for Israel as a whole after the attack. The Lebanese journalist Leila Amasha explained why it was necessary to murder Zionists – even women, children, and the disabled: "They are not human beings," she wrote, adding, "The Zionist is a robot programmed to attack us. He was born and died a killer."

Al-Jazeera, the Qatari network known for its close ties to Hamas’ leadership, has provided the most sympathetic coverage of the movement. From the beginning of Israel’s ground operation in Gaza at the end of October 2023, the station devotes the vast majority of its coverage to what is happening in Gaza, while almost completely neglecting all other regional and global news. The station broadcasts authentic videos of the Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing); images of the IDF’s physical destruction of Gaza as a result of the fighting; and emotional stories documenting the humanitarian plight of Gazan citizens. The network has amplified Hamas’ propaganda emphasizing that it is not like the Islamic State, and that it has not harmed civilians or its hostages. It broadcast an interview of senior Hamas official Salah al-Arouri (before his targeted killing in Lebanon), in which he rejected the comparison of Hamas to the Islamic State and argued it was the West that has given birth to extreme ideologies. He also claimed Hamas’ October 7 attacks were directed only at Israeli forces on the Gazan border and not at the surrounding Israeli communities. Al-Jazeera benefits from its base in Qatar, where Doha's role as mediator between Hamas and Israel, as well as its widespread popularity, insulates the network from criticism from Arab leaders about its sympathetic coverage of Hamas.

In November and December, the Arab media sympathetic to Hamas focused their coverage on Hamas' battlefield success, its ability to bleed Israeli forces, and its disruption of daily life on Israel's home front. This coverage highlights blows to Israeli morale as reported in the Israeli and Western media, whether it is criticism from reservists; challenges to the Israeli economy; or domestic political divisions. Two consistent themes stand-out in this coverage: sympathy for the public face of Hamas, principally for Yahya Sinwar and Hamas' spokesperson, Abu Ubaida; and, second, despite Israel's battlefield advances, it is Hamas that is winning the media and moral campaign. It should also be noted that it is not just elements of the media that promote sympathy for Hamas. Turkey's President Recep Tayip Erdogan, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Shaykh Ahmad al-Tayeb in Egypt, and Abdelilah Benkirane, the Secretary-General of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in Morocco, which is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, have all expressed support for Hamas' actions in the name of legitimate resistance movement that represents the Palestinian cause against Israel.

Alongside the pro-Hamas support in the Arab media, there have also been Arab media networks that condemn Hamas. These condemnations can be found in Saudi-backed or aligned media organs, which to some degree represents the ongoing competition between them and the more popular Qatari-backed Al-Jazeera. Saudi Arabia and Egypt lead the media and policy effort in the region to stamp out any expression of support for the Muslim Brotherhood. In the Saudi-backed media Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks are depicted as an expression of rebellion against Islam, and the responsibility of Iran. Prominent Saudi journalists, close to the royal family, have written articles about what can be done to "get rid of Hamas," and characterized Hamas' leaders as having committed suicide. Saudi-backed media coverage since the start of the war has also raised controversy. Saudi hosts have aggressively questioned Hamas leaders; media coverage has amplified voices on the ground in Gaza who have been critical of Hamas; and the amount of direct coverage of the war has been limited. This has raised the question in some quarters of the Arab world of whether the media's posture reflects a change in the "righteousness of the Palestinian cause." However, the criticism of Hamas in the Saudi and Saudi-backed media is often combined with harsh criticism of Israel, and what it perceives as a disproportionate response in Gaza. Moreover, the atrocities committed against Israel by Hamas receive scant attention, and when they are addressed, it is almost as if Israel is responsible for them.


*This article is part of The Struggle for Stability: Arab Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War.

**For a full version of this article that includes source citations, please see the original publication file.

***The articles in this collection were written in January 2024 and prepared for publication in early March, before the most recent developments regarding Iran and Israel.