JEDDAH, 22 July 2006 — As the world watches Israel’s brutal bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza, the response of Saudi civil society is growing with each passing day.
Yesterday a large group of prominent Saudi women strongly called for world leaders to get into action to stop the bombardment of “innocent civilians, women, children and the elderly.”
The women from different parts of the Kingdom have come together to call upon world leaders and decision-makers to stop the war in Lebanon and Palestine and to pressure Israel to cease interfering in those two countries.
Among the women who have signed the petition are Sameera A. Bitar, Hatoon Al-Fassi, Fatin Bundagji, Samar Fatany, Ghada Ghazzawi, Hanan Al-Madani, Naila Attar and Manal Al-Shareef.
The women are calling out with the voice of bereaved mothers who they say have lost their children in the beastly Israeli attack on Lebanon and Palestine; a war so wide-ranging that it has caught women, children and the countries’ infrastructure in its net and deprived them of the basic necessities of life in countries already riddled with scars of long war.
“We as Saudi-Arab women declare that we are a peace-loving people trying to bring up children who will assist in the creation of and not in the destruction of humanity,” says the statement.
“Therefore, and in the name of all women, mothers, wives and sisters we demand that world leaders and decision-makers as well as the UN Security Council and human rights organizations act now to stop the war that Israel is waging against the Lebanese and Palestinian people.
“The attacks have targeted innocent civilians, women, children and the elderly. Israel should be held accountable for its breaches of international law in its daily acts of state terror under the eyes of the world.”
The statement continues: “The wars that have ignited in the Arab region and whose first victims have been women and children are the principal reasons for the feelings of insecurity and instability in this part of the world as well as the sense that we are deprived of the right to a peaceful existence that many around the world enjoy. We hope and pray that our people will also be able to look forward to a world where peace and security reign supreme.”
On Wednesday, CNN quoted senior US administration officials as saying that Secretary of State Condolezza Rice will wait until next week to travel to the Middle East to give Israel an opportunity to “defang Hezbollah.”
The report also stated that US officials want more time “to shape the diplomacy and to create conditions on the ground for a permanent change to the situation — not just a cease-fire.”
The statement was seen by people in the Arab world for what it is — a carte blanche for Israel to continue its barbaric bombardment. “This was clear right from the beginning that the studied silence of the United States was aimed at giving Israel the room to complete its horrific destruction of Lebanon,” said Nawal Al-Harbi, a Saudi educator.
