Three Sunni Muslims have been arrested in Lebanon and their cases referred to an anti-terrorism unit for distributing leaflets violently hostile to a Middle East peace proposal from Saudi Arabia, according to security sources on Tuesday.
Supporters of the fundamentalist Sunni At-Tahrir group handed out the leaflets overnight in the eastern Beqaa Valley area of Lebanon, which is effectively under Syrian control, they stated.
The At-Tahrir group is hostile towards Saudi Arabia's ruling Wahabite dynasty.
The leaflet describes Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as a "traitor" for his initiative that Israel return to its pre-1967 borders in exchange for normalization of relations with all Arab countries, according to AFP.
The plan, which the de facto ruler of the Saudi kingdom plans to present to the Arab summit in Beirut scheduled for the end of this month, has won the backing of most Arab states.
The Sunni fundamentalists claimed the initiative was "a reward" for Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "for massacres committed in Palestine."
The extremist group said "the solution was to extract the Zionist entity (Israel) by its roots and all recognition or negotiation with the Jews is an unacceptable betrayal." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
