Posted on 04/12/2002 7:23:41 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
The Saudi royal family sponsored what some are calling a TV "Terror-thon" yesterday - an eleven hour state sponsored fund-raiser for Palestinian "martyrs" broadcast on government-owned satellite channels.
King Fahd himself kicked off the event with a whopping $2.7 million donation to the families of those killed in the so-called Palestinian intifada against Israel.
Despite a warning from Secretary of State Colin Powell last Sunday that funding for families of Palestinians killed in recent violence "incentivises" terrorism, Saudi spokespeople denied any connection.
"Reports that Saudi Arabia, or any group within the kingdom, is paying suicide bombers are baseless and false," the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., told the New York Daily last night.
"We don't give money specifically to families of suicide bombers," another embassy staffer explained. "But if that person's family is a victim of aggression, we help them out."
Other Saudi royal family members pitching in included Crown Prince Abdullah, who ponied up $1.35 million to the cause. Abdullah was spotted at a summit of Arab nations last month hugging an emissary from Iraqi madman Saddam Hussein.
A Saudi princess also donated her Rolls Royce.
Donations from those of more modest means were equally intriguing. One man pledged to give one of his kidney's to the cause. Others gave clothes, jewelry and even bags of rice, the News said.
In the first five hours, the Terror-thon raised $12 million.
On its web site, the Saudi embassy has admitted the kingdom has distributing $33 million as part of its Palestinian intifada fund.
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