Word: faisal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Palestinians believe are necessary to end the nearly 60-year-old conflict. "The devil is going to be in the detail," says an Arab official. "The gaps are going to be huge." Moreover, in talks with Rice in New York two weeks ago, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal complained that Israel's failure to halt the construction of West Bank settlements raised questions about its good faith going into negotiations. Addressing reporters later, he said that to prove Israel's seriousness about reaching a deal "there should be a moratorium" on settlements as well as construction on Israel...
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unusual joint visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week. In Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal welcomed the visitors and promised to "explore how we can start an embassy" in Baghdad, giving a boost to the U.S.-backed Iraqi government. Al-Faisal also opened the door to another longtime U.S. goal by agreeing to consider Saudi attendance at a new Arab-Israeli peace conference...
...State of Israel, which Riyadh has yet to recognize, would certainly mark a diplomatic breakthrough. But the Saudis made clear that they will show up only if the summit is aimed at discussing the "core issues" that stand in the way of a settlement. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal described these issues as the creation of a functioning Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, withdrawal of Jewish settlements from the West Bank, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees...
...backlash against the mutaween began with the case of Umm Faisal (her full name hasn't been made public), a 50-year-old Riyadh woman who endured a harrowing evening at the hands of some mutaween after arriving in her car at an amusement park to pick up her sons one night four years ago. Accusing her of indecency, two commission members allegedly ejected her driver, took Umm Faisal, her daughter and an Indonesian maid on a wild ride and eventually crashed her car. Outraged by her treatment, Umm Faisal sued, seeking compensation for damage...
...Faisal's defiant, one-woman stand is helping spur the unusual public debate about the mutaween's role and actions. Saudi newspapers and blog sites have been filled with reports and commentaries on the subject. A campaign using text messages sent to mobile phones is calling on a million Saudis to declare that "2007 is the year of liberation" from the mutaween. Apparently responding to the discontent, the Shura Council, a quasi-legislative body that advises the monarchy, recently rejected requests to give the commission a 20% pay raise for its members and funds to open additional offices around...