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Israel's president praises Saudi king
Israel's president had rare praise for Saudi Arabia's king at a UN interfaith conference, saying his initiative to end the Arab-Israeli conflict inspired hope that all countries in the Middle East could live in peace.
- AP
- Published: 23:54 November 13, 2008
- Image Credit: Reuters
- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during a dinner prior to the start of the General Assembly Meeting of the Culture of Peace, at United Nations Headquarters, in New York.
United Nations: Israel's president had rare praise for Saudi Arabia's king at a UN interfaith conference, saying his initiative to end the Arab-Israeli conflict inspired hope that all countries in the Middle East could live in peace.
Speaking to hundreds of influential people in the General Assembly chamber, where Israel has often been attacked and villified by its Arab neighbours, Israel's Shimon Peres appealed to King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia to maintain his leadership in the Arab world during the difficult process of achieving a peace settlement.
Minutes earlier, King Abdullah said it was "high time" the world learned the harsh lesson of history - that differences between followers of different religions and cultures "engendered intolerance, causing devastating wars and considerable bloodshed without any sound logical or ideological justification".
The Saudi monarch called for all peoples and nations to promote peace, harmony and tolerance, saying "terrorism and criminality are the enemies of every religion and every civilisation".
When Peres took the floor, he told delegates that building a new future in the Middle East "seems more feasible today in light of the Saudi proposal which evolved into an Arab peace initiative".
The 2002 Saudi plan calls for Arab recognition of the Jewish state in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from all lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
Then, looking directly at King Abdullah, the Israeli president interrupted his prepared speech.
"Your Majesty, the king of Saudi Arabia," Peres said. "I was listening to your message. I wish that your voice will become the prevailing voice of the whole region, of all people. It's right. It's needed. It's promising."
On his General Assembly remarks directed to King Abdullah, Peres later said: "I have reasons to believe that it didn't embarrass him to say the least..."
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