Israel is the ‘troublemaker’ in region, Saudi Prince Turki says
Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal has said Israel poses a major threat to regional stability, citing the regime’s ongoing acts of aggression against Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
He made the remarks while addressing the Milken Institute's Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi on Friday after he was asked about Iran and Israel.
“In my view, it is definitely Israel that is the troublemaker and should be reined in by the United States,” he said.
He pointed to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria as evidence that the regime is “feeling its oats.”
“By bombing Syria almost on a daily basis, continuing to bomb Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, and also in Lebanon where there’s supposed to be a ceasefire, they [Israel] are hardly a harbinger of peace in our part of the world,” Prince Turki added.
The former Saudi diplomat emphasized that Israel’s aggression against Qatar in September, which targeted leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas as they were reviewing proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza, was a “warning sign” which highlighted the necessity for the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to foster unity for their own defense.
“It’s not unusual for us as the GCC to work together to defend ourselves. But we also need to bring others with us,” he said.
On September 9, Israel launched airstrikes on the headquarters of Hamas in Doha, in what was described as an “assassination operation” that claimed the lives of five members of the movement as well as a Qatari security officer.
In response to a question whether Saudi Arabia should develop its own nuclear arsenal, the former intelligence chief noted that it is an option the kingdom should "seriously explore."
However, he stressed that given the region's volatility, the matter of nuclear weapons should be addressed in a comprehensive manner.
“We already have a nuclear-armed country in this region, which is Israel. Nobody talks about Israel,” Prince Turki said.
Israel, which pursues a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons, is estimated to possess 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, making it the sole possessor of non-conventional arms in West Asia.
It has, however, refused to either allow inspections of its military nuclear facilities or sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with the invariable support of Washington.
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