The former Saudi intelligence head, Turki al Faisal, publicly blames Hamas for Israel's military campaign in Gaza and the resulting casualties.

Al Faisal's comments came in an interview published Sunday by Al-Sharq-al-Awsat that were then reported in English by the website Algemeiner.

"Hamas is responsible for the slaughter in the Gaza Strip following its bad decisions in the past, and the haughtiness it shows by firing useless rockets at Israel, which contribute nothing to the Palestinian interest," Faisal said.

This increasingly anti-Hamas sentiment is shared by various other Arab writers and officials.

Recently, Saudi columnist Nasser Al-Sarami urged people not to be deceived by Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood's intentions. "While the poor, defenseless people... stand exposed to rockets and tanks, the jihadi and Brotherhood leaderships flee to the fortified holes they prepared for themselves. This, in addition to the leaderships that are based in countries outside the conflict zone, hundreds of miles away... This is the [Muslim] Brotherhood, the leaders of Hamas and the savage organizations. Beware of them!"

Hamas has caused more Palestinian suffering than Israel has, Egyptian journalist Kamal Gabriel wrote:

"These Palestinian gangs plunder the cause of the oppressed Palestinian people by repeatedly reenacting the story of Samson, who brought down the [Philistine] temple on his and everyone else's heads. They do this in their own country and in every country that hosts them – in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Kuwait. These organizations have become a curse on the Palestinian people..."

Various writers in Syria and Egypt also blame Hamas' actions for provoking Israeli counter attacks and prioritizing conflict over the safety of Gaza's civilians.

Moreover, Egypt's foreign minister, Sameh Shoukri, blames Hamas for the current escalation of violence, by rejecting Egypt's initial cease-fire proposal.