CAIRO: President Nasser and King Faisal in separate statements today [Aug 23] vowed that the Arab nations would return to Jerusalem and said that the use of force was the only way to victory. ...

“I have long waited and reflected about the terrible crime which has been committed against the holy of holies of our religion, our history and our civilisation,” President Nasser’s message said. “After Thursday’s fire which destroyed part of the sacred Muslim shrine we did not rush to hasty action. We waited. We could not imagine that the act was intentional. But conclusive evidence now staring us in the face leaves no chance for anybody to imagine anything but the truth alone, regardless how ugly and terrible it may be.”

King Faisal of Saudi Arabia today appealed to the Islamic world to unite efforts to liberate the holy places in Jerusalem. ... “Zionism, persisting in its criminal aggression and ignoring spiritual and human values, believes only in violence, particularly since the United Nations became incapable of obliging Israel to implement its resolution.” ... Observers pointed out that, until now, King Faisal had been against the calling of another Arab summit conference until he was convinced that all attempts to find a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis, acceptable to the Arabs, had been exhausted.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2019