Saudis condemn EU plan to cut funds to Hamas gov't

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Tuesday the European Union was being "unreasonable" for threatening to cut crucial financial aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government. "The European Union insisted on having elections in Palestine, and this is the result of what they asked for," Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters in Malaysia. "Now to come around and say (they) don't accept the will of the people that was expressed through democratic means seems an unreasonable position to take," said al-Faisal, who was accompanying Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on a state visit to Kuala Lumpur. The prince indicated that Riyadh would maintain its position as the Palestinians' biggest Arab donor, saying "if anybody changes his relations to the Palestinian Authority prematurely, it would be a disastrous thing."