RIYADH, 14 April — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, stated yesterday that protest rallies will not serve the interests of the Palestinians and urged Arabs to carry out useful activities like telethons instead.
Speaking to reporters after opening a liver transplant center at the Armed Forces Hospital in Riyadh, the prince said the Arab and Islamic world was taking the right steps to resolve the Middle East crisis. He refuted allegations that the Saudi peace initiative endorsed by the Beirut Arab summit late last month served only Kingdom’s interests.
Prince Sultan made this comment while answering a question on how people in the Kingdom could express their support for the Palestinians in the wake of pro-Palestinian rallies held in other countries.
“My question is: How will the Palestinians benefit from these clamorous protests in the streets, the burning and throwing of flags? Instead, the fund-raising campaign during the past two days has collected hundreds of millions of riyals for the Palestinian people and their leadership.”
Prince Sultan was referring to a three-day telethon organized by the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al-Quds Intifada as per the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd. Donations worth more than SR500 million were raised in cash and kind during the campaign.
The response to official calls for aid to the Palestinians has been overwhelming. People from all walks of life took part in the telethon campaign, which began on Thursday.
Businessmen, members of the royal family, Islamic scholars, women, children, nationals and expatriates all contributed. Princess Al-Jawhara bint Al-Ibrahim, wife of King Fahd, yesterday donated SR3 million to the fund.
Even domestic helpers made donations. A woman who looks after four orphaned children appeared on TV to donate a gold necklace, the only thing of value she owns.
One old man insisted on leaving his hospital bed, where he was being treated for a heart attack, to donate the last SR100 he owned. A number of people donated the value of their dowries, others the cost of their dinner and some a part of their salary.
Many people donated their life’s savings. One old woman said she hopes that her donation would help a Palestinian child grow up and be educated in a free Palestine.
Scholars who took part in the campaign appealed to people to donate to help “our Palestinian brothers” and to contribute for “the Palestinian cause, Islam’s first and foremost issue.”
Saad Al-Beraik, a well-known scholar, urged merchants in particular to contribute, telling them not to fear measures adopted by the United States to fight terror financing. “Whether we pay or not, we are all on the US list of terrorism financiers,” he said.
By Friday night, the amount raised through the telethon totaled $120 million. Some $93 million of the donations were in cash and the rest in kind, including several kilograms of gold, jewelry, real estate, land, vehicles and countless other items.
King Fahd opened the campaign on Monday by donating SR20 million.
Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is chairman of the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al-Quds Intifada, yesterday allocated SR10.52 million as emergency aid for 200,000 Palestinian families living in cities besieged by the Israeli occupation forces, while the Islamic Development Bank announced an emergency assistance of SR3 million.
Riyad Bank donated SR1 million to purchase food, medicine and clothing for the Palestinians. The bank has also opened a special account to receive donations by its staff.
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah collected SR90,000 in donations from its staff.
