Saudi prince: Handshake no olive branch to Israel

A Saudi prince says his recent handshake with an Israeli deputy minister is not a step towards recognition of the entity.

“This event should not be taken out of context or misunderstood,” said former Saudi intelligence chief Turki al-Faisal on his handclasp with Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon at a security conference in Munich on Saturday, AFP reported on Sunday.

“My strong objections and condemnations of Israel’s policies and actions against the Palestinians remain unchanged,” he added.

Al-Faisal, however, promised Israel “regional recognition” by Riyadh upon Tel Aviv’s “removal of all settlements” in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“It is clear that Israel’s Arab neighbors want peace, but they cannot be expected to tolerate what amounts to theft, and certainly should not be pressured into rewarding Israel for the return of land that does not belong to it in the first place.”

Last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal denounced the easygoing international attitude, which has emboldened Israel into destroying the prospect of peace in the Middle East.

Israel refuses to meet the Palestinian condition for recommencement of peace talks. The Palestinian side wants Israel to enforce a permanent and complete freeze on its settlement expansion in the occupied territories.

The resulting long-standing standoff in the talks was coupled with Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 offensives against the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians. A UN-commissioned inquiry earlier in the year convicted Tel Aviv of committing war crimes during the raids.

Relations between Israel and most of the Arab community have worsened following the raids.