World No. 1 squash player; Don't just talk about Ukraine, Focus on Palestine too

Egypt's Ali Farag, the world's number one squash player, expressed his discontent with Western media coverage regarding last month's Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it fails to cover "oppression everywhere in the world."

People should talk about Palestine as they do about Ukraine, said the professional squash player, "We've never been allowed to speak about politics and sports, but all of a sudden now it is allowed. So that we are allowed, I hope that people also look at the oppression everywhere in the world."

He said, referring to conflict with Israel, "The Palestinians have been going through that for 74 years."

Mr Farag lashed out at the Western media, saying that Palestinian conflict is seldom featured in the news because it "doesn't fit the narrative of the media" in the West.

In any case, we can now address Ukraine and so discuss Palestinians, he continued.

Arab and Middle East journalists have also expressed concerns about Western media coverage of Ukraine's invasion, comparing the Ukrainians under attack to middle-eastern nations in a way that normalizes war in non-European regions.

"This type of commentary reflects the pervasive mindset in Western journalism that normalizes tragedy in places such as the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America," the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) stated in a statement.

As a result, "it dehumanizes them and makes their experiences with war seem normal and expected," the journalists' body said.