(Al-Riyadh - Saudi Arabia - Translated by MEMRI) Musaid Al-Asimi - This is not a call to demonstrate friendship toward Israel - on the contrary, there is tension in [our] attitude toward the country because it occupies Arab land - but as a Saudi citizen what can I do about Israel, when the Palestinians in authority have declared peace with it. Furthermore, several Arab countries that share a border with Israel have signed permanent peace agreements with it, such as Egypt and Jordan. Who, then, is the enemy? Who is it that I should watch out for and beware of? Logic says that whoever threatens you and manipulates others to hurt you, is your enemy; whoever helps those who were duped by weapons and money so that you end up being abused, is your enemy; whoever invents conflict at the time of the pilgrimage to Mecca, foments fear and problems, and makes trouble so as to make you appear incapable of managing this religious ceremony [is your enemy]; and whoever instigates panic and cultivates ethnic divisions in your country and in neighboring countries whose issues are important to you, is your enemy. The enemy is out in the open. Even more so [the enemy] speaks of this openly and points [to himself] as if to emphasize that you are referring to him. Is there a greater enemy to us and to our countries than Iran, and does Israel threaten, influence, or worry [us], or disseminate resentment and hatred like Iran does? Therefore, let us focus on our true enemy. We must do all that we can to defeat this enemy [i.e. Iran] and the most important thing is that we don't stand idly by in light of those who are duplicitous [i.e. Qatar], for the friend of my enemy is [also] my enemy, even if he is an Arab from the Gulf.
2017-06-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive