(Jerusalem Post) - Yaakov Katz Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan denounced testimony last week by former Israeli UN Ambassador Dore Gold that Saudi Arabia funds terror activity against Israel, calling it "lies and unsubstantiated accusations." Gold told the House International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East that more than 50% of Hamas funding comes from Saudi Arabia, which continues to directly fund the Hamas military wing, provides funding for civilian terrorist-front organizations, and writes checks to families of suicide bombers. Gold, who received his Ph.D. in Saudi Arabia studies from Columbia University, responded to the charges: "I suggest that Prince Bandar read Saudi documents in Arabic left around Palestinian headquarters which show a direct connection between Saudi Arabia and the terrorist campaign of Hamas and Islamic Jihad against the people of Israel." In response to Prince Bandar's charge that Gold "has opposed virtually every major peace initiative over the past two decades," the former ambassador replied, "I attended the Aqaba peace summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Sharon, but I don't remember seeing Prince Bandar there."
2003-07-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive