Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who met with President Carter at the White House Tuesday, advised the United States yesterday to deliver Israel into a “just and lasting settlement.”
His terms for a settlement, as outlined in his remarks and in responses to questions at a National Press Club appearance, embraced concepts usually associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Knowledgeable observers of the Middle East scene saw no visible glimmer of compromise for a safe and secure Israel in his statements.
The Prince, whose country’s leadership is touted as “moderate,” welcomed the suggestions in the current edition of the Armed Forces Journal to reduce U.S. assistance to Israel. He quoted the article’s assertion that Israel “is a militaristic state whose military build-up has gone far beyond the requirements of defense.”
The Prince said in his text that “It is the Israelis who three decades ago intruded into Palestine, and it is the Israelis who, since then, have systematically seized still more Arab lands.”
Asked why a Palestinian state was not considered by the Arabs in the 19 years before Israel entered the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War, the Prince replied that question “leads to 1948 and not 1967” and said the partition of Palestine was never implemented because Israelis occupied “many parts for the Palestinians.”
Asked whether Israel’s Begin government is “preparing for war,” as the Armed Forces Journal and some others have reported, he replied to some applause, “If you believe your papers, they are.” However, he skirted questions on the chances for a Middle East war, whether the PLO should establish a provisional government, and the use of oil to further Arab views in the political arena.
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