This is how the Near and Middle East is responding to Hamas’ attack. Switzerland now exchanges financial account information with 104 countries

Egypt

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979 as a result of the Yom Kippur War. In the past, the country served as an intermediary between Hamas and Israel. The country has already offered to mediate the release of Israelis held captive by Hamas. The population is pro-Palestinian.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi warned of “serious consequences”. In particular, a deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the creation of a vicious circle that threatens regional stability and security. The Foreign Ministry had previously called on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to exercise “the utmost restraint.” As in other Arab countries, there have been no protests yet. Many people celebrated the attack on social media.

Iran

Iran does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and describes the government as a ‘Zionist regime’. The Shia regime makes no secret of its support for Hamas, even though the terrorist organization is Sunni. The Revolutionary Guards celebrated the Hamas attack on state television. They shouted: “Death to Israel. Death to America.” A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Iran will support Hamas terrorists “until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”

The radical Islamic group Hamas has been supported by Iran for years in terms of financial support and military equipment. However, the Revolutionary Guard denies any involvement in this attack. Research by the Wall Street Journal shows that Tehran approved the attack. “There is certainly a close relationship, but we have not yet seen any evidence that Iran organized or directed the war,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told CNN. Some Iranians are showing solidarity with Israel in opposition to the indoctrination of the Revolutionary Guards.

Lebanon

Iran is closely linked to the Islamist-Shia terrorist militia Hezbollah (Party of God), which is mainly active in Lebanon and also receives financial support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The paramilitary militia is also represented as a political party in the Lebanese government. Hezbollah congratulated Hamas for its “heroic action” and has already taken part in the attack, in which the terrorist organization fired rockets into Israeli-occupied areas of the Golan Heights.

Iraq

Iraq is also on the side of the Palestinians. Hamas’ attacks are a “natural consequence of systematic oppression,” according to a statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. He condemned Israel’s defense and called for an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League in view of the situation. Anti-Semitism is widespread in Iraq. Recently, a law was passed banning people from having contact with people from Israel.

Turkiye

Erdoğan not only sees himself as a global advocate for Muslims, but also acts as a mediator, as he did in the war in Ukraine. He has contacts with Hamas and Israel and calls on both parties to exercise restraint. In the past he has repeatedly advocated the creation of a Palestinian state. But that’s not all: this summer he met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Ankara to broker reconciliation between the two rival Palestinian groups.

Qatar

The Qatari Foreign Ministry blames Israel alone for “the continued escalation of violence against the Palestinian people.” Qatar and Israel do not maintain diplomatic relations.

Syria

Similar sounds can be heard from Damascus. The State Department praised the attack as an “honorable achievement” and considered “resistance in all its forms as the only opportunity for Palestinians to realize their rights,” the statement said.

Morocco

Israel and Morocco agreed in 2020 to establish full diplomatic relations through the so-called Abraham Accords, brokered by the US. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry expresses its “deep concern” and condemns the attacks on civilians “wherever they take place.”

However, the Islamic-oriented PJD (Justice and Development Party), which was the largest party in parliament until the 2021 elections, described the Hamas attack as an “act of heroism”.

Saudi Arabia

The big neighbor demands an immediate end to the escalation. A statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said: “The Kingdom recalls its repeated warnings about the dangers of an escalation of the situation due to the continued occupation.” Saudi Arabia, with its two holy places of Islam – Mecca and Medina – is considered a protective power for Palestinians in the Arab world.

Before the Hamas attack, there was a US-mediated diplomatic rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The US is Israel’s protective power and also an important ally for Saudi Arabia.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a peace treaty with Israel three years ago. The UAE called for “an immediate ceasefire” after the attack. Violence, tension and instability in the region must be prevented, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.