Hizbullah Chief Nasrallah Chides Saudi Arabia for Normalization with Israel

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who heads the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization, a proxy for Iranian-backed violence, has lashed out at Saudi Arabia for allegedly forging ties with Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. In a speech shown at a memorial service, Nasrallah called it a “cultural disaster” and warned that the Saudi policy toward the Jewish state will open the door for other Arab states to “follow suit.” The terrorist leader was apparently referring to the visit to Israel by retired Saudi general Anwar Eshki and a group of businessmen and academics last week. Although the Saudi government later distanced itself from the trip, it had been touted as support for the Arab Initiative, the 2002 Saudi peace plan, the goal of which was to normalize relations between Israel and the Arab world. Many have suggested that because it is illegal for Saudi citizens to travel to Israel, the government must have signed-off on the venture despite the foreign ministries efforts to walk back the impact of the event. References to Israel in government communications and in Saudi media typically refer to “the occupied territories.”