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Israel to launch smear attack on Saudi: report
[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel is threatening to launch a global campaign against Saudi Arabia, in keeping with a decision that was made by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and which has been kept secret until now, Israel's daily Maariv reported.The campaign, if launched, would target audiences in the United States, Europe and other places around the world. It would draw attention to Saudi Arabia's human rights issues, the status of women and alleged terrorism financing, in the U.S. Congress, the European Parliament and other venues. The campaign would go so far as to lodge complaints with international courts. Lieberman's decision was made after foreign minister officials concluded that Saudi Arabia was the principal force behind a global campaign to delegitimize Israel. Senior political officials said this week in closed conversations that Saudis had mostly financed the international court lawsuits, public debates and conferences that have been hounding Israel's reputation. Israel will also demand that Americans press Saudi Arabia to relinquish its campaign against Israel. "They're playing a double game," said one political official. "The Saudis act as if they are part of the moderate camp and are trying to exploit the West for their own needs, when at the same time they have been financing an orchestrated campaign against Israel's legitimacy, against Israel's economy and more. That needs to be ended." Many Israeli political officials, both in the Foreign Ministry and in other departments, however disagree with Lieberman's decision saying it will not yield positive results. The Saudis may have their faults, say the opponents, but they are clearly situated in the moderate camp, they support political negotiations, they stand behind the Arab peace initiative and they are equally threatened by Iran and radical Islam just like Israel is. Israeli political officials opposed to Lieberman's initiative argue that Israel should be looking to find a common ground with Saudi Arabia. That criticism, however, seems unlikely to change Lieberman's decision, according to the newspaper. Posted by: Fred 2010-05-16 |
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