Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said yesterday that Arabs want their legitimate rights™, rather than concessions from Israel. “We donÂ’t want concessions. We are people with rights and we demand our rights,” the king told the BBC when asked whether he expected any Israeli concessions in order to reach a Middle East peace settlement.
In an interview with British television, King Abdullah also said that Saudi Arabia had provided intelligence information to British authorities about a possible terrorist attack in the UK. “We sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain, but unfortunately no action was taken and you know what happened,” the king said about the deadly July 7, 2005 bombings.
The BBC aired the interview hours before the king arrived in London on a state visit, the first by a Saudi king in 20 years. The king, who arrived on a pleasant and cool day, was greeted at the airport by Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and other senior British officials as well as Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Saudi Ambassador to the UK Prince Muhammad ibn Nawaf. |