English-language Arab media may focus more on the plight of the Gazans than in Western media, but Hamas is typically recognized as a militant organization, similar to what appears in Western coverage.

Where Arab media differs is in the opinion pages, where Hamas and the Palestinians may be shown in a more favorable light. In a June 2014 op-ed in Al Arabiya, for example, journalist Bakir Oweida declares, “How unlikely it is that Hamas would kidnap three Israeli settlers just weeks after signing a unity agreement with Fatah,” and blames Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for using the incident to hamper the reconciliation process.Bakir Oweida, “Netanyahu’s Flagrant Bigotry on Palestinian Unity,” Al Arabiya, June 22, 2014, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2014/06/22/Netanyahu-s-flagrant-bigotry-on-Palestinian-unity.html.