In the past few weeks, a number of Egyptian TV hosts and reporters have publicly condemned the actions of Hamas and even praised Israel, with one even going so far as to post, both on Facebook and Twitter, a thank you to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

That particular journalist was Azza Sami, deputy editor of the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram. She posted the following message online:

Bless you Netanyahu, may Allah make a lot of people like you to destroy Hamas, the base of corruption, treachery and being an agent for the (Muslim) Brotherhood. By Allah, whoever tells me “forbidden (to say this)”, I don’t know what I’ll do.

In addition to Sami, Egypt Today television presenter Hayah Al Dardiri actually called for Hamas to be destroyed “in a military operation,” while Hekmat Abdel Hamid said on Good Morning Egypt, of Hamas, “Get killed, it is none of our business… For the last four years they have done nothing but cause us trouble.”

And on top of all that, TV presenter Tawfik Okasha really went off on Hamas on his program.

Tawfik Okasha, an ardent supporter of Egypt’s military regime and known for his firm stance against the ousted Muslim Brotherhood, attacked the entire Palestinian population live on air. “Gazans are not men,” he declared. “If they were men they would revolt against Hamas.”

His comments were reportedly picked up and aired on Israeli television. Not surprisingly, these comments have drawn criticism by many in the Arab world. Al Arabiya, for example, covered the controversy as one over “opinions seen by critics as extreme and short of professional values.”

[h/t Al Arabiya]

[image via screengrab]

— —

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]