Saudi-’Israeli’ Ties: Secrets Brought to Light

Louay Toufic Hassan

"The rule of King Saoud is authoritarian, based on his personal desires and I say unfortunately there isn't in Saudi Arabia an economy per se. The country is in a very bad situation. Commerce is dead." Talal Abdul Aziz, brother of Saudi King Saoud, interview with al-Akhbar newspaper, number August 30, 1962.
The Syrian originated man worked as a consultant for King Faisal first and then for his brother Khaled, as he murmured to a Syrian relative, despite his very known sense of discretion. He told him that the coming years would witness new alliances. "Yesterday's enemies may become our friends tomorrow."

 He succinctly said, "Do not be surprised. We may become in one rank with "Israel" against communism." This was decades ago, with the beginning of the soviet intervention in Afghanistan in late 1970's.

When his relative relayed to me the aforesaid, he stressed that it was a dangerous secret that had come out from an important man. Back then, I didn't comment much. We were preoccupied with the big event at that time, the issuance of the nationalist work pact between the Syrian and Iraqi commands, in a prelude to the unity of two countries. The great hoped to rectify the regional balance of powers, which had swung "Israel's" way after Egypt's withdrawal from the conflict following Camp David, overwhelmed us. But our wishes had all gone to waste in the face of colonialist forces, with Saddam Hussein being the stepping-stone for that scheme.

This lowdown was a personal testimony regardless of what have been said about the Saudi royal family and the old secret channels linking them to the Zionist entity. A slight review of this divulgated secret would show how things happened on the ground. First of all, we must rake up the initiative of King Fahd in 1981, which enfolded an implicit recognition of the "Israeli" entity. That same year, "Israeli" jets flew over Saudi Arabia en route to attack Iraq's nuclear reactor. It was later disclosed that the operation was coordinated between the Saudi intelligence and the Mossad.

In the summer of 1982, "Israelis" invaded Lebanon to expel the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO]. That war was said to have been funded by Saudi Arabia within the frame of an agreement with USA and "Israel" to shove the Palestinian Cause into oblivion. Besides, both the Saudi and "Israeli" sides had alleged underhanded ties which resulted into the 1967 war; many documents were published in a number of newspaper, proving that the war was funded by KSA to overthrow Abdel Nasser.

That was when the US showed appetite, and blessed the war! In fact, the royal family in Saudi Arabia started to sense danger after some 60 thousand Egyptian soldiers entered Yemen in 1962 to support an anti-regime uprising. It is to note that defections inside the royal family loomed, in rebellion against King Saoud Bin Abdul Aziz. Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, father of Alwalid, had indeed deserted the royal family and taken asylum in Cairo where he had given up his title and founded, in tandem with a group of Saudis magnates, "the pillar of the Arabian Peninsula," which broadcast from the Voice of Arabs station in Maspero. Of course, this happened before Talal returned home as his brother Faisal assumed the crown.

Nonetheless, this secret cooperation between Saudi Arabia and "Israel" has been unearthed in 2005 when the Kingdom announced lifting ban on "Israeli" products, in a bid to join the World Trade Organization. In December 2009, the United Press issued a report on an "Israeli-"Saudi cooperation to run Sardar gas field situated on borders between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, under joint management by Youssof Mayman and Turki Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. Later in June 2010, The Times said that KSA had given "Israel" the green light to use its airspace to attack Iran. "KSA conducted military trainings to stop its defensive air force in case "Israeli" jets flew over it to get to bomb Iran!

All this leads us to think that the current bilateral collaboration between the two, on the intelligence level, is just a continuation of what has started long time ago. Today, this cooperation is at best because the two sides fear the new détente with Iran. In principle, the "Israelis" fear the booming of any country's power in the region. For their part, the Arabs of the Gulf fear the price they will have to pay for this rapprochement. "They are pissing in their pants," a New York Times' reporter quoted a top "Israeli" official as saying.

This is why they have started to increase support for the terrorist groups in Syria and to drag Hizbullah into problems on the domestic scene. It is within this very frame that the assassination of martyr Hassan Lakkis took place. His killing shed light on how exposed Lebanon has become security wise, noting the spying on cell phones and the telecom data now available in the hands of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. "Obtaining the telecom data is an essential and important actor for any professional security apparatus," Ashraf Rifi has once said.

Back to the details of the assassination of Lakkis, many points draw a particular attention, in terms of the professionalism in the operation and the tracking of the martyr. It all leads to conclude that the perpetrators had waited for days for their target to show in place to shoot him; hence, there is an environment supporting for them, whether they came from "Israel" or elsewhere! In conclusion, this orchestrated operation would not have happened had it not been to high-level security collaboration.

Is KSA involved? Are there any local security apparatuses that have facilitated the killing task? Here, the words of Elie Hajj, son of martyr François Hajj, come to my mind. The man has hinted that some security service was implicated in facilitating his father's assassination. It is no secret that Lebanon has become widely exposed on the security level. Still, some are still seeking to place the weapons of the Resistance under the custody of the state. Is this the state they are referring to?!

Source:Al-Ahed news