Lebanese Sunni scholar slams Saudi's hailing Israel

Beirut, Aug 23, IRNA – The recent remarks made by a Saudi authority are in line with normalizing ties with the Zionist regime, said the chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. 'These are not his words; he doesn’t have the authority to say such things,' said Sheikh Maher Hamoud on Wednesday in an interview with al-Mayadeen TV channel. Saudi Minister of Awqaf (Endowment) Abdullatif bin Abdulmalik Al Shaikh said in a video that was published in social media that he hailed 'the State of Israel' for not preventing the Muslims from going to Hajj. Sheykh Hamoud also said that all over the Muslim world, the Saudis role in normalizing ties with the Zioniost regime is well-known. In this regard, the spokesman for Yemen's Ansarollah Mohammad Abdus Salaam wrote in a Twitter message that the Saudi minister naming the Zionist regime as 'the State of Israel' is 'unjustifiable'. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had already implied in an interview with The Atlantic magazine that he recognized Israel as a country. He said that Israel has a 'right' to a homeland alongside the Palestinians; he added, 'I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land.' Many observers believe that following the meetings made by the Saudi and Emirati authorities with the Israeli officials, important steps are being taken to normalize relations with the Occupying regime.