Saudi FM Saud al-Faisal
Photo: AP
Saudi FM wants US to press Israel by cutting off aid
Saud al-Faisal tells Newsweek US aid should come with condition that Israel 'make reasonable concessions' to Palestinians
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said the US should use aid it gives Israel as leverage in order to pressure the state into accepting the US-backed two-state solution.
In an interview with Newsweek published Saturday Faisal said, "The United States has the means to persuade the Israelis to work for a peaceful settlement. It needs to tell them that if it is going to continue to help them, they must be reasonable and make reasonable concessions."
When asked whether the US should withhold funds until Israel agreed to a peace plan calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state Faisal said, "Why not? If you give aid to someone and they indiscriminately occupy other people's lands, you bear some responsibility."
The Saudi minister said US President Barack Obama, who visited the region this week, "showed sincerity". He also praised the president's commitment to the freezing of Israeli settlement activity, but said his Cairo speech should be translated into action.
Faisal said relations with Israel were contingent upon a peace deal with the Palestinians. "We don't have anything to offer Israel except normalization, and if we put that before the return of Arab land we are giving away the only chip in the hands of Arab countries," he said.
