Former head of Saudi intelligence Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud on Dec. 8, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

The former head of Saudi Arabian intelligence on Tuesday said that he condemned both Hamas and Israel as responsible for the ongoing war between them, adding that he opposed Palestinian violence.

While Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud is no longer a Saudi official, any condemnation of Hamas and Palestinian violence is a potentially significant sign of thinking within the Saudi royal family.

“All militarily occupied people have a right to resist their occupation, even militarily. I do not support the military option in Palestine,” Turki said. “I prefer the other option, civil insurrection and disobedience. It brought down the British Empire in India and the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe. Israel has overwhelming military superiority. And we see in front of our eyes, the devastation and oblivion it is bringing to the people of Gaza.”

Turki — who is the first cousin of Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and also previously served as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States — spoke in English and was addressing a conference at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, Texas. 

He went on to explicitly condemn Hamas’ targeting of civilians and implicitly condemn the Palestinian terrorist group for undermining Saudi Arabia’s recent negotiations with the United States to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for, among other measures, concessions to the Palestinians.

“I categorically condemn Hamas’ targeting of civilian targets of any age or gender, as it is accused of. Such targeting belies Hamas’ claims to an Islamic identity. There is an Islamic injunction against the killing of innocent children, women, and elders,” he said. “I condemn Hamas for further undermining the Palestinian Authority, as Israel has been doing. I condemn Hamas for sabotaging the attempt of Saudi Arabia to reach a peaceful resolution to the plight of the Palestinian people.”

While Turki’s remarks also included a litany of accusations against Israel, including that it was carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, that it operated “concentration camps” for Palestinians, and that Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis had been “provoked” by past Israeli actions, even an equivocal condemnation of Hamas from such an influential former official is noteworthy in a region where exclusive condemnation of Israel is the norm.

“There are no heroes in this conflict. Only victims,” he said.

Tuesday’s conference occurred before the explosion later that day near Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, where a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket that killed some 10-50 people was in turn used by Hamas to falsely accuse Israel of killing 500 people in an “airstrike.” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement affirming Hamas’ claim and accusing Israel of a “heinous crime.” Saudi Arabia has not condemned PIJ.