Gulf governments were understandably emotional about the violence taking place at al-Aqsa as well. Yet their public stance on the matter became more objective and nuanced once Iranian-backed Hamas started firing rockets at Israel. For example, Anwar Gargash, an advisor to Emirati president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, issued a tweet condemning militants for “exploiting the suffering of the Palestinian people for narrow and unworthy calculations,” while influential religious figures such as Waseem Yousef criticized Hamas for using civilians as human shields.
