JEDDAH, 6 April — Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday urged Saudis who demonstrated near the US Consulate in the eastern city of Dhahran to support the Palestinians by actions, not by words.
“They have been told that we in the Kingdom are interested in deeds, not empty words, to support our Palestinian brethren politically and economically,” the prince said, reacting to yesterday’s demonstration.
“A group of individuals tried to gather in front of the American Consulate to express their anger over what is happening to their Palestinian brethren,” the minister said, and warned that such gatherings are not permissible in the Kingdom.
Some 30,000 Americans live in the area, most of whom work for Saudi Aramco. Yesterday the US Consulate put out a warning advising all Americans to remain in their homes and to exercise “great care” if they go out.
Prince Naif called on the zealots who took part in the demonstration to take effective steps in support of the Palestinians. “These enthusiasts should help Palestinians through donations to the Saudi Committee for Supporting Al-Quds Intifada,” the prince said. “We are now making preparations to send a large quantity of donations, both in cash and kind, to the Palestinian people languishing under the barbaric Israeli aggression,” he added.
In a statement after a pro-Palestinian rally on Monday in the northeastern town of Sakaka, Prince Naif warned that the government would not tolerate such protests.
The Kingdom has strongly condemned the brutal Israeli attacks on Palestinians. Prince Naif told the Saudi Press Agency that the Kingdom was deeply concerned about the situation in occupied Palestinian territories.
The imams of the two holy mosques yesterday denounced Israel’s barbaric aggression and said God will punish the Zionist state for its atrocities against unarmed civilians.
“Those who commit outrages on earth and oppress innocent people will be stricken by disasters,” Sheikh Osama Khayyat said in his Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque.
Abdul Bari Al-Thubaithy, imam of the Prophet’s Mosque, warned that the Palestinian people face “mass killings” at the hands of the occupiers.
