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Soddy al-Qaeda clerics hail Hamas
Leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas were feted at a reception by hardline Saudi clerics during a visit this week to ensure continued financial aid from the wealthy Muslim country, a delegation source said.The United States and the European Union have threatened to withhold aid to the Palestinian Authority unless Hamas, gearing up to form a government after a surprise win in elections, gives up its armed struggle and recognises the Jewish state. Members of the five-man delegation, headed by exiled leader Khaled Meshaal, said that Saudi officials had assured them of continuing political and financial aid in private meetings since their arrival on Friday. A delegation source said they would meet the head of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the worlds biggest Islamic body, in Jeddah today, before performing pilgrimage in Makkah. It was not yet clear if they would meet the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the prime mover behind an Arab peace initiative adopted by an Arab summit in 2002 that proposed a land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The source said hardline cleric Nasser Al Omar was the host at the reception for the delegation in Riyadh on Sunday evening. A report on Omars website said that the reception included a number of prominent clerics and Islamists, some of whom have been jailed in the past for suspected support for Al Qaeda or criticism of the Saudi government. Saudi Arabia, which says it funds only the Palestinian Authority, has been under US pressure to cut funding to Hamas. Saudis donate over $500m a year to Palestinians, including $150m from private charities and individuals, a recent Saudi security report said. Saudi authorities have been tight-lipped about the visit, which highlights the conflicting demands of Saudi Arabias close US alliance and strongly pro-Palestinian public. Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal publicly spurned a US call to isolate Hamas during a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month, but officials have said that Hamas should moderate its stance towards Israel. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-03-14 |
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