Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday that the carnage in Gaza is unprecedented and cannot be justifiable under the pretext of self-defense.
In an interview with PBS NewsHour, Prince Faisal said that “too many civilians have already died on October 7 and since.”
“We have now seen a level of carnage in Gaza that is unprecedented, that is unjustifiable under any pretext of self-defense,” the Saudi Foreign Minister said, adding:
“We need to find a path out of this conflict, and, therefore, we think there should be a ceasefire that can allow us, first of all, to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
Stressing the need to protect the lives of the civilians in Gaza, Prince Faisal noted that many people are also dying due to the dire humanitarian situation.
The foreign minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, sat down with Nick Schifrin for a candid conversation about the violence in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia's role in the region.https://t.co/HSHmysUv98
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) December 9, 2023
“We’re also seeing people dying now of diseases such as cholera because of the broken-down sanitary system,” he said.
Commenting on the US decision to veto the UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Prince Faisal said that he cannot understand why “ceasefires are somehow (seen as) a dirty word”.
“Usually, what we see when there’s a conflict in the international scene, we are all always looking for a way to end the fighting,” he said.
So we’re very disappointed that the Security Council hasn’t been able to take a firm position on that, and we certainly disagree with the U.S. that this resolution deserves — doesn’t deserve to go through.
His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan
For PBS NewsHour:“What the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia says in secret
She says it in public, “And all Arabs are like that, just the opposite.”
Some Westerners https://t.co/t2q7RWvuMm pic.twitter.com/HwNYfaoXSm— الـ ؏َ ــ ـو جـ ـا (@ALAwja_) December 9, 2023
Prince Faisal refuted claims from PBS host, Nick Schifrin, that “(Saudi Arabia’s) public calls do not match your private calls to destroy Hamas. Why the dual message?”
“There is no dual message. What we say in private and what we say in public is exactly the same, not just for the kingdom but for all the Arabs,” the Saudi FM said, adding:
“I am very proud that what we are saying in public and private are the same. I can’t say the same for some of our Western interlocutors.”
When asked about the possibility of pursuing a normalization process with Tel Aviv, Prince Faisal said “We are focused on ending the war now, but we are also very, very interested in moving the cause of peace forward.”
The $500 million deal is separate from a major aid package currently making its way through Congress, which would devote $14.3 billion in direct military assistance to Israel.https://t.co/c2aqj1RtwT pic.twitter.com/9fLBfnndnB
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 9, 2023
“Peace is the answer. And that will need a Palestinian element. That will need us to move irrevocably to a Palestinian state,” he added.
The number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli war on Gaza since October 7 has reached 17,490, including 7,870 children and 6,121 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. 46,480 were wounded.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
