ARAB AFFAIRS - July 19 - Turki Calls For Even-Handed ME Solution.

Addressing a conference organised by the Next Century Foundation at the Houses of Parliament in London, Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki Al Faisal calls upon world community to find a just, lasting and comprehensive Middle East peace settlement based on the principles of international legitimacy and responsibility as well as justice and even-handedness. He also reiterated Saudi Arabia's unwavering support for the Palestinians. Prince Turki, who is ambassador to the UK and Ireland, accused that the international community was adopting double standards in dealing with Arab-Israeli conflict. He said: Despite showing indifference to Israeli aggression and inhuman treatment toward the Palestinians, swift action has been taken when UN resolutions have been violated in other areas". In his keynote speech, Prince Turki highlighted Saudi Arabia's efforts to find a just solution to the protracted problem. He pointed out that US Pres Bush had called the latest Arab peace plan, which was originally initiated by Crown Prince Abdullah, as a "bold step". He said Prince Abdullah's peace initiative, which offers peace with Israel in exchange for land, would provide a viable solution to the conflict. He, however, regretted Israel's rejection of the initiative. He said the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict was the most threatening to Middle East peace and stability. "There will be no peace or stability until a just and comprehensive solution is found, within which Palestinians have the right to self determination and have their own viable state, on their own land", he insisted. The Saudi ambassador reminded the gathering of the Balfour Declaration. "In November 1917 Arthur Balfour, the then British foreign secretary said, 'Nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine'". In 1946 King Abdul Aziz wrote to US Pres Truman urging him to keep moral principles in mind and not to tolerate unjust policies aimed at accommodating Jewish claims at the expense of the rights, dignity and independence of the indigenous people of Palestine. "In his reply President Truman told King Abdul Aziz that the Palestinian problem was the most difficult problem facing the world. Here we are six decades later, and it is still the most difficult problem facing the world", he stated. After the establishment of the Israeli state and the occupation of Palestinian land in 1948, the Kingdom supported the rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, their rights to their own state on their own land, and their right to return to their homes, properties and farms in Palestine. Prince Turki also referred to the peace plan proposed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd in 1982, which called for Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories, which were occupied in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem; the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Prince Turki denounced the building of a wall by Israel, saying it would create new de facto borders between Israel and an eventual Palestinian state. He said Israel's intransigent and defiant stand would cause irreparable damage to the much-troubled road to peace. "Barriers and walls will not bring peace and stability", he added. Prince Turki urged the Quartet Committee to revive the peace process urging Israel to live up to its commitments toward the road map and to its obligations in compliance with UN resolutions. In his concluding remark, the ambassador asked the meeting why the international efforts were failing to find a just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.