Riyadh urges firm stance on Israeli war threats

Saudi Arabia has called on the international community to take a ‘rigorous position’ against Israel’s saber-rattling against Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinians.

Riyadh “appeals to the international community on the need for a rigorous position about these (Israeli threats),” the cabinet said after its weekly meeting on Monday chaired by King Abdullah.

The Saudi cabinet also urged greater “efforts to end the continuous inhumane Israeli practices against the Palestinian people.”

Some of the Saudi remarks were in response to Syrian complaints against Tel Aviv’s saber-rattling. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman earlier this month threatened Israel would defeat Damascus in any future conflict and topple President Bashar Assad’s rule in Syria.

The hawkish foreign minister’s remarks came after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that “the absence of an agreement with Syria could lead to armed conflict that could develop into all-out war.”

On February 5, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri appealed to the international community to be aware of daily Israeli threats and take measures to prevent a possible Israeli attack on his country.

The call came after Israeli cabinet minister Yossi Peled said that another confrontation with Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah was almost inevitable.

At a conference in Munich on Saturday, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon shook hands with Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal.

The move left Western media buzzing about a possible normalization of Arab-Israeli ties with Riyadh setting the lead among other Arab countries.

But Prince Turki, tipped to be the kingdom’s next foreign minister, brushed away the speculations, stressing the handshake did not mean that the kingdom recognized Israel.