Sharon tries to wreck Saudi-US ties

WASHINGTON, 8 May — Israel’s Ariel Sharon has come to Washington with an agenda. Not only does he want to oust President Yasser Arafat as leader of the Palestinians, he also wants to drive a stake between US and Saudi relations.

Sharon says the alleged seized Palestinian documents he plans to show President Bush prove that the Saudi Interior Ministry has paid millions of dollars to families of Palestinian bombers and to the Hamas. "The Saudis wanted to cover this up," said Col. Miriam Eisin, an Israeli intelligence official who provided copies of the documents to reporters at the Israeli Embassy in Washington yesterday.

The Israelis allege the Saudi government gave $135 million in the past 16 months to help the families of Palestinian bombers and fund other aspects of the anti-Israel intifada, the intelligence officer said.