Saudi Prince Refuses to Back Down
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A Saudi prince on Friday refused to back down from comments on the Israel-Palestinian conflict that led to his $10 million donation to a New York City relief fund being rejected by New York's mayor.
Billionaire Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal said it was a misunderstanding to interpret his statements during a visit to New York on Thursday as offering a justification for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Rather, the prince said he felt obliged to speak on what is needed to solve the problem of terrorism.
"To do that, we have to look at its roots. An important factor destabilizing the region is the Israeli attacks on Palestinians," he said in a telephone interview from his palace in Riyadh.
The view is widely held by Arabs in the region, who accuse the United States of unfairly siding with Israel in the Israeli-Arab conflict.
During his visit to the wreckage of the World Trade Center on Thursday, Alwaleed called the terrorist attack "a tremendous crime." In a written statement, the prince added: "At times like this one, we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause."
New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who had accepted Alwaleed's $10 million donation, ordered the money returned when he learned about the statement.
"There is no moral equivalent for this attack," Giuliani said. "The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification when they slaughtered 5,000, 6,000 innocent people. Not only are those statements wrong, they're part of the problem."
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