Turki-Al-Faissal-&-Ayalon
Morocco Post \ Hespress \ Washington, DC
A political handshake between an Israeli and a Saudi prince resolved an unusual diplomatic public dispute last Saturday on the seating arrangements in an international conference for security.
Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, and Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal shook hands in a show of good diplomatic behavior.
Ayalon said “There is a chance” in a reference to hopes for a more peaceful region.
Ayalon accused Prince Turki, a former Saudi intelligence chief and former Saudi ambassador to the US, of masterminding the decision to remove him from a joint committee with other regional powers to discuss security in the Middle East.
The committee was scheduled to include speakers from Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Russia and the United States.
During the conference, the Committee was split into two parts, one including Prince Turki and the Egyptian diplomat Hossam Zaki, and the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Dawood oglu, and the second includes Ayalon the Russian academic Igor Iorginz and the U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Ayalon began his speech by saying “it appears to be that an envoy of a State that has a lot of oil” have put pressure to divide the Committee because he “did not want to sit with us.”
“this shows the absence of mutual respect and tolerance, which is a weak point in the heart of the region’s problems” he added.
During the question and answer session the Saudi Prince told the audience that he was not the one who forced the split and that was probably because of the rude behavior of Ayalon with the Turkish ambassador in Israel.
Ayalon responded by saying “Since Mr. Turki called into a question my intergrity, I would offer something wich is very simple if indeed it was not him who objected my being here together with him I would welcome him to shake my outstretched right here and if it’s too difficult for you to come here I will come to you. Would you be willing to do that? “Prince Turki approached the podium and Ayalon came down and they shook hands.
There was no immediate comment from the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Dawood oglu.
As Muslim State Turkey is an important ally of Israel and arranged in the past contacts between Israel and the Arab world. But the relations between the two countries deteriorated in the wake of criticism made by the Turkish Prime Minister Rajab Tayib Ardoghan to Israel’s invasion “crimes” in Gaza last year.
