By IINA,
Riyadh : As many as 55 prominent Saudi figures, including scholars, judges and university professors from the holy city of Makkah, issued a statement warning against normalizing relations with Israel under the current circumstances. “Any peace initiative that involves recognizing right of Jews over the Palestinian territories and normalization of relations with Israel is unacceptable,” they said while stressing that the efforts to liberate Palestine from the Jewish usurpers is a Sharia obligation on both the Muslim masses and their leadership. “What the Palestinian groups do in the name of Jihad to liberate their homeland can be termed as the highest form of Sharia obligation,” the statement said.
The scholars asserted in the statement that it is permissible for resistance groups to make peace with Jews, on the condition that this should be on a temporary basis, with the objective of further reinforcing their economic, educational, and military capabilities.
They are of the view that criticizing the resistance is an act of hypocrisy. The scholars urged the Muslim Ummah, both the people and the leaders, to effectively use the weapon of economic boycott against Israel and all those cooperating with the Jewish country. Sheikh Abdullah Al Jabareen, former member of the Saudi Ifta Council, is one of signatories of the statement. The statement reflects the position of the Saudi public toward Israel and coincides with an Arab initiative led by Saudi Arabia at the International Atomic Energy Agency, seeking to probe into the alleged use of depleted uranium arms during the recent Gaza offensive.
Mansouri Bin Khalid, Saudi ambassador to IAEA, handed formally a letter to IAEA Chief Mohammad Al Baradei reflecting these concerns. The IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming confirmed in Vienna that the agency had received a formal written complaint. The spokeswoman said it would consult with member states on the diplomats’ demand for a probe into whether Israeli attacks on Gaza might have featured the munitions, which leave dangerous radioactive debris.