NEW YORK, 11 November — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said yesterday that his talks with US President George W. Bush at the White House, which focused on the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East peace process, “were positive and fruitful.”
He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to combat terrorism and bring the criminals to justice. “President Bush has said he wanted to see a quick end to the suffering of the Afghan people. This is the goal which the Kingdom too seeks to realize in cooperation with friendly countries,” the prince said.
Referring to the Middle East peace process, Prince Saud expressed his hope that Washington would soon announce its stand on this issue. He expressed happiness over US commitment to continue its key role as sponsor of the peace process.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and a bulldozer made an incursion into Palestinian self-ruled area of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip yesterday.
“This morning Israeli tanks went into Zone A in the Al-Amal neighborhood near the Khan Yunis refugee camp. They went close to people’s houses without any reason,” a Palestinian official said. The force moved some 300 meters into the territory, he said. Zone A refers to areas under full Palestinian administrative and security control.
In an overnight raid Israeli troops snatched 12 Palestinians in the West Bank, maintaining the tension in the occupied territories as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat prepared to address the United Nations General Assembly.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called on Israel yesterday to reconsider its policy toward the Palestinians, saying they will never give in, but continue to resist Israeli occupation of their territories.
“I sincerely advise Israel to reconsider its (anti-Palestinian) policy and practices, which cannot be beneficial to anyone, especially the people of Israel, who aspire, like all people, to a safe and stable life,” he said in a speech to the Egyptian Parliament.
Those aspirations “cannot be realized by current Israeli policies, which flow from the totally unjustified conviction that the rights of Israelis have supremacy over the rights of Arabs, and that Israel can impose its will on the Palestinian people, profiting from the distraction of the rest of the world by other problems and challenges.
“The Palestinian people will not give in; they will continue to fight and to resist, “ he added.
The Egyptian president also said “it would be better for Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights (which it captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed) and from the part of Lebanon that it still occupies.”
That was a reference to the Shebaa Farms, also captured from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and now claimed by Lebanon.
