Monday, January 19, 2009

Saudis offer $1 billion to repair Gaza


An Israeli soldier prays Monday next to a stock of ammunition on the Israel-Gaza border. Israel ordered its troops out of Gaza, but warned they would return if Hamas violated a cease-fire and resumed its rocket and mortar fire. ASSOCIATED PRESS

It was rather interesting when Olmert stated he would leave Gaza immediately. I guess he felt a billion of Saudi support to rebuild Gaza would also eliminate 'the culture of hate' toward Israel. Let's hope the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is as successful in rehabilitating Gaza and Hamas as he has been his own country. I wish him well and success. The people of Gaza dearly need the influence of King Abdullah to reshape their culture and their country. He deserves praise and possibly a Nobel Prize if he is successful.


Peace offer not open-ended: KingArab News (click here)
King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Arab summit in Kuwait on Monday. (Reuters)
KUWAIT CITY: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday demanded a quick, positive response from Israel to the Arab peace initiative, warning it would not stay on the table forever. “Israel must understand that the choice between war and peace will not always stay open and that the Arab peace initiative that is on the table today will not remain there indefinitely,” King Abdullah said while addressing the Arab economic summit in Kuwait City.
He announced a donation of $1 billion from the Kingdom to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli offensive, and lambasted the Jewish state for its excessive use of force on the people of Gaza.
In his historic speech, King Abdullah said that the period of Arab disunity was over, opening a new era of Arab unity and brotherhood. The king set an example by holding talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the presence of Jordan’s King Abdallah, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah....