RIYADH, 12 September — Marking the first anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, Saudi newspapers yesterday blasted Israel for its opportunistic exploitation of the tragedy.
"It signaled the start of war against us ... unfortunately the war, triggered off by terrorists, was exploited by others, the enemies of Arabs and Muslims, headed by Israel and its lobby in the United States," said Al-Watan.
The terrorists "have given the justification to our enemies to launch war against us ... Israel is exploiting it to attack the Palestinians without anyone moving to protect them," the daily said.
Al-Bilad agreed, saying the kamikaze strikes had been exploited to undermine Arab-American ties and unleash crimes against the Palestinians.
"The Zionist gangs have exploited the attacks and started feeding (anti-Arab) hatred to wounded America, which reflected adversely on the Palestinian issue," it said.
Al-Jazirah accused Israel of hindering the campaign on terror by attempting to brand the Palestinians as terrorists.
"Israel’s course of action has disrupted the war on terror by mixing up the cards" on who is the real terrorist, the paper wrote.
"Israel has twisted this war to serve its interests by classifying the Palestinians as terrorists and working to put their groups on Washington’s blacklists," it added.
Okaz newspaper called for examination of the role played by Israel in working to destroy Arab relations with the West.
"We confirm that we have no problem with the West, but the behavior of Israel on the basis of (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon’s policy poses a threat to us and the West, and to our relations with the West and the United States in particular," it said.
Newspapers in the UAE said the situation in the Arab world had changed for the worse since the attacks in the US.
"A year after the sad events, the Arab-Muslim world has sustained more heavy losses and casualties on all fronts. The Israeli clique of butchers led by the terrorist Ariel Sharon has gone too far in turning Palestine into a bloody scene", said an editorial in Al-Ittihad newspaper.
Taking a tough line, the Dubai-based Al-Bayan newspaper said the United States "had turned into a monster, a semi-dictatorship and a police state, trampling on international laws and legitimacy".
"The black Sept. 11 was a landmark day in the American history, but Washington wants it to be a milestone for the whole of humanity", added Al-Bayan.
The newspaper Al-Khaleej said in an editorial that the fragile Arab position after the Sept. 11 attacks has paved the way for US threats of unjustifiable aggression against Iraq and other Arab countries.
