By Tom Perry

BEIRUT, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip has inflamed sentiment across the Arab world against governments seen as doing little or nothing to stop the onslaught.

Many critics have gone further still, accusing some states of collaborating in the attack on the Palestinian enclave. From Cairo to Riyadh, the offensive illustrated the gulf between the policies of Arab rulers and the feelings of their citizens.

"O God wreak your revenge on all those who help the Jews and made peace with them and closed the crossings in the face of the people of Gaza," said Imam Ibrahim Yousef in an attack on Egypt.

"May God close the gates of heaven in front of them," he added, addressing worshippers at a mosque in Amman. "O God give the people of Gaza who have been let down by Arab rulers the will to remain steadfast against the enemies of God," he added.

Footage of Palestinian dead, including children, being picked from the rubble of buildings hit by Israeli fire has been broadcast across the Middle East by Arab television channels. Some have supplied non-stop coverage.

In Jordan, hundreds of worshippers wept during noon prayers, a scene repeated across the kingdom where worshippers recited prayers cursing Arab leaders, perceived by many as not only standing idly as Gazans die, but conspiring with Israel.

Protesters have taken to the streets across the Arab world.

Cairo, which made peace with Israel in 1979, has borne the brunt of the Arab wrath because of its cooperation with the Israeli blockade of Gaza, with which Egypt shares a border.

Israel stepped up its military campaign on Saturday with a ground offensive that Palestinian medical sources say has so far killed more than 30 people, adding to a death toll that now stands at more than 500 in nine days.

Rockets launched from Gaza have killed four Israelis in that time. Halting rocket fire from the impoverished enclave is the stated aim of the Israeli campaign, which began with eight days of air strikes.

ARAB RAGE

Arab governments, long perceived as impotent in defending Palestinian rights, offered condemnation at a meeting in Cairo last week. Even the ministers in attendance admitted frustration at the outcome of the meeting.

"We cannot say they are Arab leaders," said Darin al-Ezza, a 21-year-old Lebanese student. "They are taking orders from abroad."

Saudi citizen Abu-Faisal said: "I don't understand why billions of our money are spent to equip the army only for this to rust in warehouses and have the government call for a nationwide fund collection campaign for our brothers in Gaza."

Saudi Arabia and Egypt, both U.S. allies, have friendly ties with the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction was routed in fighting with Hamas in Gaza in 2007.

Egypt has partly blamed Hamas for the violence because it did not renew a truce with Israel that expired in December. Although some Egyptians sympathise with their government's position, others have taken to the streets in protest.

"The Arab position has been disgusting," said Lana Hassan, an engineer from Syria, a country which supports Hamas and has strained ties with Cairo and Riyadh. "But I am not surprised. Those leaders are a tool of the American project in the region, which is a pro-Israeli one at the core," she said.

Arabs took to the streets again on Sunday in solidarity with the people of Gaza. About 2,000 Iraqis demonstrated in the holy city of Kerbala, chanting "Death to Israel".

Security forces in Lebanon used tear gas and water canons to disperse hundreds protesting near the U.S. embassy. "O Arabs, where is our dignity?" read a banner at a Beirut protest.

"It's a conspiracy against the Palestinian people, against the resistance. They don't want resistance in the Arab world," said Amal Snouno, a Palestinian attending the rally.

"What is happening today in Gaza energises further Muslim and Arab peoples to put more pressure on their leaders to answer their calls to fight Israel or step down and be replaced," said Fathallah Arslane, a leader of the Moroccan Islamist opposition group Adal wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity). (Additional reporting by Damascus, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Rabat, Baghdad; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

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