Saudis make strong protest over intrusion

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 6

Saudis make strong protest over intrusion

NZPA Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has unleashed a strongly worded protest against Israel for carrying out surveillance flights in the kingdom’s airspace even though such aerial spying has been frequent in the past. Observers in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, believe there are several reasons why the Saudis are making a fuss now, including the timing of the Israeli intrusion on Monday, which came on the eve of the six-nation summit meeting of Arab Gulf States. Prince Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, confirmed publicly for the first time that such flights had taken place in the past. “It has happened before, of course,” the Prince told reporters yesterday. “It just reflects the nature of Israel in its actions against the Arab countries. It is a new aggression against the Arab

world.” Saudi Arabia’s Government only a few years ago denied that Israel was carrying out such missions, even though Saudi officials were saying privately that fsrael was indeed sending its warplanes into Saudi airspace. Diplomatic observers in Riyadh explained the contradiction as a desire by the Saudis not to appear incapable of dealing with Israeli overflights. But a military spokesman said that on Monday the Saudi Royal Air Force — which is equipped mainly with American-made F 5 jet fighters that are no match for Israel’s advanced Flss and Fl6s — intercepted an Israeli squadron and chased it away. The decision to go public may be threefold, observers believe. First, the Saudis were sharply criticised by Arab hard-liners for failing to detect the Israeli jets that

reportedly crossed Saudi skies to attack the Iraqi nuclear reactor near Bagdad last June 7. Arab Leftists taunted the Saudis for having the sophisticated Awacs radar planes on loan from the United States and not picking up the marauders. The observers suggest the Saudis needed to make at least a token show of force to squelch such criticism. At the same time, the kingdom has scored at least two partial victories in recent months that have given its usually cautious leaders new confidence: The United States Congress’s approval of the sale of Awacs radar planes to Saudi Arabia, and the generally favourable reaction its Middle East proposals received both in the Arab world and internationally. Israel yesterday continued to refuse to comment on the matter.