JEDDAH, 20 April — The imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah yesterday strongly criticized the international community for its inaction and silence over the brutal Israeli aggression on the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
"Where are the Security Council and other world organizations? Can’t they hear the cries of the bereaved and orphans and the wailing of widows in Palestine?" Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais asked while delivering his Juma sermon, aired on Saudi Television.
Sheikh Sudais said Israel was carrying out a war of "ugly annihilation" against the Palestinians.
"When the (Muslim) nation opted for peace to safeguard its greater interests they (the Jews) did not reciprocate," he said.
Sudais, who could not hold back tears, was apparently referring to a Saudi offer of peace with Israel in exchange for the Jewish state’s withdrawal from occupied Arab lands that was endorsed by an Arab summit in Beirut last month.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon launched an all-out military offensive against the West Bank on March 29, a day after the summit adopted the peace initiative proposed by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.
"Zionists have a long history of treachery and betrayal ... They are the heirs of the Nazis and fascists," said the imam.
"World leaders, you claim to be fighting terrorism, but what do you call what those people did to Palestinians?" asked Sudais. "Are the aspirations of more than a billion Muslims to safeguard their sanctities considered terrorism?" he added.
Sheikh Sudais urged world leaders to slap a political and economic embargo on Israel for committing war crimes and breaching international charters and resolutions.
"They (the Jews) want to establish a greater Israel with Jerusalem as its capital and they aspire to tear down the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest place of worship, to build their so-called temple on its ruins," he said.
He urged Muslim leaders to save Palestine before it is lost forever.
"We have to take effective measures to realize the interests of the Islamic nation and protect its achievements before being swept away by the torrent of changes," the imam said.
At least 1,279 Palestinians have been killed since a Palestinian uprising began in September 2000.
Sheikh Sudais called upon Muslims to provide moral and material support for their Palestinian brethren. He commended the good response given by Saudis and expatriates to a telethon organized by the Saudi Committee for the Support of the Intifada.
In his Friday sermon, Sheikh Salah Al-Bedair, the imam of Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, urged Muslims to wake up from their slumber and work for redeeming their glory.
"Is it suitable for Muslims, who are large in numbers with plenty of resources, to leave their brethren to the mercy of Jewish oppressors and occupiers," he asked.
He called upon Muslims to learn a lesson from their present predicament, turn to God for help and shun prohibited things.
House donated: A retired Saudi employee from Taif has offered to sell his only house to donate its value for the Palestinians, Al-Madinah newspaper said in a report.
The Saudi, who requested anonymity, confirmed that he did not have any other property except his house — a two-story building with an annex in Taif.
"I am looking for an opportunity to sell the property so that I can donate the money to the Palestinian people. This is the least I can do for our brethren in Palestine now," the Arabic daily quoted the Saudi as saying.
