Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Saudis back Hamas

From Debkafile, March 13, 2006, 11:55 PM (GMT+02:00) ...

Saudi media kept a tight lid on the visit to Riyadh of a five-man Hamas delegation headed by Damascus-based politburo chief Khaled Meshaal. It took place after the Saudi government turned down a request from US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to cut off aid to a Hamas government, unless its leaders recognize Israel, renounce terrorism and respect previous accords.

At the same time, the visitors were given a red carpet welcome by Muslim Brotherhood websites which are popular with the Saudi public. ...those websites released a religious edict, signed by top Saudi clerical, spiritual and academic leaders. Among them were the noted writer and religious ideologue, Ibrahim Jerallah from Riyadh, and Dr. Ahmed Zaharni, rector of the theology faculty of Medina University. None of these eminent persons would have taken this initiative without the say-so of the royal court.

The edict consists of five parts:
1. All Palestinians must join a Hamas government without prior conditions or quibbling on terms.
2. Zionist efforts to isolate or bend a Hamas-led regime must be thwarted.
3. All armed Palestinian organizations must line up behind a Hamas government.
4. The Palestinian people should not worry about its future but cooperate with a Hamas government.
5. If the Palestinians follow these decrees, the Palestinian Authority will not lack for funds.

Sunday, March 12, Sheik Nasser al-Omar, who is reputed to be one of the most extremist clerics in the kingdom, threw a gala reception for the Hamas delegation at his residence in Riyadh. Among the guests were hardline Muslim leaders, some of whom have spent time in jail for supporting al Qaeda. Tuesday, before performing the pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hamas visitors will meet the head of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah.

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