US Watergate Reporter: How Arab Leaders Backed Israel Against Hamas

The famous American journalist Bob Woodward, assistant editor of The Washington Post, the journalist who revealed the Watergate affair, has published a new book entitled "War", in which he claims that after October 7, various Arab leaders asked the US to destroy Hamas citing its historical ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Woodward purports to reveal details of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meetings with several Arab leaders shortly after October 7, as Israel's war against Hamas and the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza was ongoing.

In the aforementioned book, Woodward describes the meeting between Blinken and the king of Jordan. When they met in Amman on October 13, 2023, the king told him: “We told Israel not to do this, we told them not to trust Hamas, Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood, Israel must defeat Hamas. We will not say it publicly, but we support the defeat of Hamas".

Woodward also claims that when Blinken visited the United Arab Emirates on October 14, 2023 and met with Mohammed bin Zayed, the Emir told him: “Hamas must be eliminated. We have repeatedly warned Israel that Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. We can give Israel time to eliminate Hamas, but first it must help us soothe our citizens from the images of violence and destruction in Gaza by bringing aid, creating safe zones, and controlling settler violence in the West Bank Western. Let him help us with our citizens and we will give him space to eliminate Hamas."

Also, Woodward points out in the book that when Blinken visited Saudi Arabia on October 14, 2023, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told him: "Israel should not trust Hamas, and Netanyahu has repeatedly warned us against it, because Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The Saudi foreign minister continued, saying: “Terrorist groups are not only trying to eliminate Israel, but they want to topple other Arab leaders. We are concerned about what the Israeli operation will do to all of our security, and what comes after Hamas could be even worse."

Bin Farhan added: "We will not pay a single dollar to rebuild Gaza after the chaos created by Netanyahu."

The next day, Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who reportedly told him: “I want the problems that arose on October 7 to be eliminated. A Palestinian state must be established before normalization with Israel. I don't want it, but I have to justify the normalization. I want to return to Vision 2030 by normalizing relations with Israel. Gaza must first be peaceful so that we can normalize with Israel."

Blinken's next visit before returning to Israel was in Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Sisi asked the American delegation to leave so he could meet privately with Blinken. Sisi then allegedly told Blinken that he "just wants to keep peace with Israel."

The head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, then provided the American delegation with important information about the depth and extent of the tunnels under Gaza. He explained to them that Hamas has its roots in Gaza and that it will be difficult to eliminate it. "Israel should not enter Gaza immediately, but should do so in stages."

Woodward also writes that Senator Lindsey Graham and Netanyahu “planned quiet talks between Netanyahu and the Saudi ambassador in Tel Aviv in November 2023 (the month after the Hamas attack on Israel). It would be a historic moment."

Regarding his sources, Woodward writes: “All interviews for this book were conducted according to the journalistic cardinal rule of 'deep background'. That means all the information can be used, but I won't say who gave it."