An Int'l "Double-Standard" Has Allowed Israel To Get Away With War Crimes: Prince Saud al-Faisal, Saudi Foreign Minister
My Name
by Paul Handley Paul Handley
AFP/File - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal
speaks to the press with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100102/capt.photo_1262450602035-1-0.jpg
RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal
said on Saturday that Israel acts like a "spoiled child" and
stalls Middle East peace talks thanks to easy international
treatment.
"We can't reach a solution with the preferential treatment
that Israel gets," Prince Saud told a news conference in
reply to a question on restarting the peace talks with the
Palestinians.
"In the international community Israel has become like a
spoiled child," he said after holding talks with Turkish
counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu which included "ample"
discussion of the Palestinian-Israel problem.
The two foreign ministers called for Israel to halt all
settlement expansion activities to enable peace talks to
move ahead.
"There should be a freeze on the settlements in all the
occupied territories and especially east Jerusalem,"
Davutoglu said.
The Palestinians and their supporters maintain that Israel's
continued building and expansion in settlements has blocked
efforts from early last year to restart negotiations for an
independent Palestinian state.
The two ministers, whose countries have played important
roles in trying to relaunch the peace process, called on the
international community to take a "stern and serious stance"
against Israel's settlement policy.
"This policy casts doubt on (Israel's) seriousness in the
peace process," Prince Saud said.
He also said an international "double-standard" had allowed
Israel to get away with war crimes, without providing
further details.
"Other countries who violate international law are
punished," said the Saudi foreign minister.
Israel, along with Palestinian militants, have been accused
of committing war crimes and possible crimes against
humanity during Israel's 22-day assault on the Gaza strip
last year.
The attack, which began on December 27, 2008, left 1,400
Palestinians -- including more than 400 minors -- and 13
Israelis dead.
The Saudi-Turkish discussions on the Palestinian problem
came four days after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and
Saudi King Abdullah held talks on the same issue, and ahead
of an expected trip to the region by US Middle East peace
envoy George Mitchell.
Mitchell could bring with him draft letters of guarantee to
Israel and the Palestinian Authority that Washington hopes
would get talks moving again, an Arab diplomat in Cairo told
AFP on Monday.
"The United States is hoping that the two letters will serve
as a basis for the relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations but we don't know if they will satisfy the
Palestinians, who want a complete freeze of settlement
activity before talks resume," the diplomat said.
Washington is under pressure from the Palestinians'
supporters, including key regional US allies Saudi Arabia
and Egypt, to take a firmer line against Israel and its
settlements policy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100102/wl_afp/mideastconflictisraelsauditurkey
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