RIYADH, 18 June — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, said yesterday that Arab countries should consider boycotting Western firms doing business with Israel if world powers failed to stop the Jewish state’s attacks against unarmed Palestinians.
“We Arabs should support our Palestinian brothers morally and politically. We should take a joint stand on the Western and Eastern companies that do business with Israel, by not dealing with them if the world powers and the Security Council fail to take a positive stand,” Prince Sultan told reporters. He emphasized that Saudi Arabia would never deal with such companies in future if the ongoing peace initiatives did not succeed. He hoped that the current American and European peace efforts would help stop the violence in occupied Palestine.
Prince Sultan said Saudi Arabia favored a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem. “Returning to the negotiating table is better than a situation when we announce our support for the Palestinians in their war against Israel. Once war starts, nobody will be able to stop it,” he warned.
“It is in Israel’s interest to return to the negotiating table because it is going through an unprecedented crisis,” the prince said. In 1993, most Arab states suspended boycotts of the companies from third countries that deal with Israel, but maintained the boycott on Israeli firms.
Prince Sultan said Crown Prince Abdullah’s recent rejection of an invitation by US President George W. Bush reflected the Kingdom’s opposition to the American stand on the Palestinian issue. “The crown prince has done a great job in explaining our stand.”
Referring to the Iraqi oil pipeline seized by the Kingdom recently, Prince Sultan said the pipeline was owned by Saudi Arabia and that Baghdad had no right to complain to the United Nations.
“Iraq was using this pipeline before the 1991 Gulf War. It was constructed by the Kingdom on its territory using its money to facilitate Iraq’s oil exports. The pipeline now returns to Saudi Arabia and Iraq has no right to it,” he stressed. Saudi Arabia announced Monday that it had taken over the $2.2 billion facility.
Prince Sultan invited Saudi companies with international experience to operate domestic flights. “We have received many offers to establish national companies for domestic transportation,” he said. “We are waiting to see how the Saudi private sector and businessmen are going to purchase Saudi Arabian Airlines, one of the world’s largest airlines.”
Prince Sultan said the Kingdom had no information about the 13 suspects in the 1996 Alkhobar bombing named by US recently. He said Saudi Arabia has detained a number of suspects who have admitted their involvement in the bombing.
Prince Sultan said there was no plan to purchase F-16 fighter planes to replace F-5s, which are still effective. He described the Kingdom’s F-15 fighter planes as more effective and powerful.
He said Saudis should come forward to do jobs like salesmen, guards, hotel waiters and barbers. “Private companies must try to replace non-essential non-technical expatriate staff with Saudis,” he added.
