JEDDAH, 9 April — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd yesterday reiterated Saudi Arabia’s unwavering support for the Palestinians and ordered a nationwide telethon to raise funds for them. He also donated SR10 million to the fund.
Addressing the Council of Ministers, King Fahd urged all Arabs and Muslims as well as the international community to stand by the Palestinians to put an end to the brutal Israeli aggression. He also urged the United States to pressure Israel to implement the UN Security Council resolutions.
The telethon, the second since the start of the ongoing intifada against the Israeli occupation 18 months ago, will be held on Thursday on Saudi Arabian Television. It will last from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. next day. (12 noon to midnight GMT).
King Fahd inaugurated the fund-raising campaign by donating SR10 million. Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, gave SR5 million and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, SR3 million.
King Fahd referred to the recent statement by US President George W. Bush, urging Israel to stop its incursions into the areas under the Palestinian Authority and start pulling out from Palestinian cities immediately without delay.
“Concerted efforts are needed to prevent Israel resorting to delaying tactics to perpetuate its occupation of Palestinian territories and oppression of Palestinian civilians,” the king said.
King Fahd commended the support and sympathy of Saudi people to their Palestinian brethren and urged them to contribute generously to the fund set up by the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al-Quds Intifada. Donations can be sent to the joint account (No 90) at all Saudi banks.
King Fahd also ordered the dispatch of emergency relief supplies to the Palestinian people in the form of thousands of tons of food and medicines. The last telethon for the Palestinians saw support pour from all over the world and by the end of the day SR40 million was raised. “The new fundraising campaign comes at a time when the Palestinian people are facing tragic circumstances. Saudis and expatriates are requested to support the Palestinians by providing them with food, medicine and clothes and contributing to rebuild the shattered infrastructure,” the committee said in a statement.
“The committee will continue to provide direct assistance to the families of Palestinian martyrs and those wounded while resisting the occupation,” the statement said.
Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the Cabinet meeting authorized the foreign minister or his deputy to hold talks with the Portuguese side to reach an agreement for cooperation in economic, commercial, cultural, scientific and technical areas and in sports and youth activities.
The meeting renewed the commercial and economic agreement with Lebanon for another year and endorsed the new law for private laboratories. The Cabinet appointed Humaid ibn Muhammad Al-Rowaithy as deputy minister for domestic trade and Dr. Muhammad ibn Suleiman Al-Rowaished as assistant deputy education minister for student affairs.
