Abdul Wahab Bashir • Arab News Staff

JEDDAH, 23 June 2003 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has said Saudi Arabia would never put pressure on the Palestinians or make them agree to anything against their will but would always support Palestinian demands.

“One of the conditions put by the Saudi delegation to the Sharm El-Sheikh summit led by Crown Prince Abdullah was that we would not be a tool to pressure the Palestinians to accept anything they don’t want.

“The responsibility to decide what they want is entirely with the Palestinians. The role we have always envisaged is that within right we will back Palestinian demands. That is our traditional role and will continue,” Prince Saud said in an interview with the Arabic satellite television station Orbit.

He also stressed the importance of ensuring Iraq’s independence, sovereignty and unity through the establishment of a legitimate Iraqi government as soon as possible.

“The Kingdom hosted a meeting of Iraq’s neighboring countries following the Anglo-American invasion. We agreed that the priority should be the establishment of security, the protection of the Iraqi people and the provision of services. We also agreed that the Iraqi people should run Iraqi affairs and we called for the formation of a legitimate Iraqi government as soon as possible to decide the fate and future of Iraq,” he said.

“If these objectives were not met and if Iraq’s independence, sovereignty and unity were not guaranteed and if there was no government to lead the country to a brighter future, the picture would be painful for the entire region.”

Prince Saud said he thought an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq impossible. “We have to be frank with each other. There is no force capable of maintaining security in a serious manner except the occupation forces. If the United Nations is to play a role then the role for such forces should be such that it does not lead to chaos.”

Asked if the Kingdom had ever financed the Islamic movements in Palestine (Hamas and Islamic Jihad) whether directly or indirectly, Prince Saud said since the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, the Kingdom had been sending remittances through the PLO.

When the Saudi charitable organizations were first set up there were no regulatory measures. These organizations were authorized to operate like any other charity organizations elsewhere in the world, he said.

“If money reached Hamas and Jihad from Saudi individuals, money reached them too from the United States, Britain and France. There were no restrictions then on charity work. After that we learned that money from some philanthropic organizations reached some terrorists. Now there is control over these activities and the possibility of these money reaching any illegal organization is non-existent.”

Prince Saud denied the Kingdom provided an environment that fosters terrorism since the Kingdom was itself a victim of terrorism. “If there is any environment for terrorism it is because of the injustice that happened in the Middle East,” he added.