Saudi Prince: Gaza Strife "Senseless"

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Prince Saud: The sign of their continuing adherence to the Mecca Agreement will be if they catch the perpetrators of the fighting and bring them to court and punish them. If that doesn't happen, it would be a sorry state indeed. Unless they bring those to trial and punish them, they will not control events for the future. [King Abdullah] holds them firmly to the commitment they made in the eyes of God, in the eyes of all Muslim people and particularly in the eyes of the Palestinian people, who supported the agreement wholeheartedly. [He spoke] very sternly in terms of their responsibilities and duties.

TIME: Their response?

Prince Saud: They promised to do everything they can to, not only stop fighting, but that they will punish the responsible people.

TIME: Did the Palestinian fighting complicate the meeting in Brussels this week between Arab and European foreign ministers?

Prince Saud: Certainly it was great disappointment. But the meeting went on very well in spite of that. Remember that we had warned that in order to safeguard the agreement of the national union between the Palestinians, that it is very important to raise the boycott on them, and to recognize the government. I hope that what has happened drives this home. Certainly the Palestinians bear the main responsibility. But I think the Western countries and United States could have acted more positively.

TIME: Your response to Prime Minister Olmert's invitation for Arab leaders to discuss the peace initiative in Israel?

Prince Saud: We want a clear sign of interest, not just in words. We think there are things Israelis can do to give confidence to the committee of the Arab League for advancement of the peace process. That is such issues as freezing the settlements, freezing the building of the wall, paying the Palestinians their [tax] money. If they do that, we will send an official delegation of the Arab League to Israel in order to talk things over and see how we can advance the cause of peace.

TIME: After the Palestinian infighting, is Israel correct to say there is no peace partner?

Prince Saud: A negotiation in which one side or the other is looking not for negotiations but for excuses is not going to happen. In spite of all the procrastination of the Israelis over past years, we reconfirmed our commitment to the peace process. If we wanted excuses not to seek peace, we would have found thousands of excuses in the actions that Israel is taking.