JEDDAH, 16 April — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has stated that Saudi Arabia will stand by the Palestinians with all its capabilities to confront the barbaric Israeli aggression.
The crown prince, who is presently in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, made this comment during a telephone conversation with Palestine President Yasser Arafat.
“Prince Abdullah told President Arafat that the Kingdom will stand by the Palestinian people with all its capabilities in the face of fierce Israeli aggression,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
During their talks, the two leaders reviewed the situation in occupied Palestinian territories and the sufferings of the Palestinian people as a result of the Israeli aggressions and continuing blockade.
Arafat’s call to the crown prince followed US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to his besieged West Bank headquarters on Sunday.
Powell later held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon — who has launched a massive military offensive in Palestinian cities — but made no progress on a cease-fire to end 18 months of bloodshed.
Prince Abdullah warned Powell last week that US credibility in the region was at stake, and urged Washington to help implement calls for Israel’s withdrawal from Palestinian territory.
“Quick action by the United States to stop the Israeli aggression was necessary to protect Washington’s credibility in the Arab and Islamic world and its interests in the region,” the crown prince told Powell.
“We, and the whole world, realize the role and weight of the United States. The pressure tools in the hands of the American administration enable it to stop the bloodbath caused by the Israeli government’s actions against our brothers in Palestine,” the prince said.
“What is happening in Palestine is an insult to the whole of humanity,” Prince Abdullah said, adding that Washington was not doing enough to restrain Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, whose policies have undermined Washington’s own war on terrorism.
“At a time when the US is exerting serious and huge international efforts to fight terrorism, we see Sharon — who claims to be a US ally — doing everything in his power to sink this effort,” the crown prince told Powell.
The Saudi government has collected more than SR600 million ($160 million) for the Palestinians in a three-day telethon as Saudis and expatriates lined up their full resources in an unprecedented show of support.
The campaign, organized by the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al-Quds Intifada, raised SR410.36 million ($110 million) in cash and up to SR200 million ($53.3 million) in kind.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd opened the campaign by giving SR20 million. Prince Abdullah donated SR5 million while Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, SR3 million.
The response to King Fahd’s call for aid was overwhelming, attracting not only members of the royal family, businessmen and scholars, but also women, children and poorly paid domestic helps.
Abdul Rahman Abdul Qader Faqeeh, chairman of the Faqeeh Group, said his company will donate SR1 from each chicken sold at its 50 Tazaj outlets in the Kingdom for the Palestinian uprising. The donation will start on Saturday and continue for a week.
