Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Friday “unequivocally” condemned Hamas for the October 7th massacre on Israel, the first leader of an Arab country to do so – 43 days after the massacre took place.

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies’s annual Manama Dialogue security conference, the Crown Prince said that he stands “on the side of civilians and innocents, and not on the side of political posturing. The attacks on October 7th were barbaric, they were horrific. They were indiscriminate. They killed women, children, and the elderly.”

“I don’t think any Arab leader has called on Hamas to release the hostages,” he asserted. “So it is a time for straight talking. They hit civilian institutions and they hit military targets. And on top of that, it seems it’s okay now to grab hostages and take them away and speak about it as if it’s an act of war. That is something that we condemn.”

The Crown Prince also criticized Israel, saying that he “condemns Israel’s retaliation, which has resulted in the death of 11,000 Gazans and left many more living in an intolerable situation without access to basic necessities such as electricity, running water, and medical care.”

“Let me be extremely clear on what matters to the Kingdom of Bahrain – there must be no forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, now or ever. There must be no reoccupation of Gaza and there must be no reduction in Gaza’s territory.”

“On the other side, there must be no terrorism directed from Gaza against the Israeli public. Those are the red lines.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)