Saudi says Israel attacks threaten regional war

RIYADH, July 25 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah warned today of war in the West Asia if Israel continues attacking Lebanon and the Palestinians, in an apparent appeal to key ally the United States to end the fighting.

''Saudi Arabia warns everybody that if the peace option fails because of Israeli arrogance, there will be no other option but war,'' state-owned media quoted the king as saying.

His comments were unusually forthright for Saudi Arabia, which has called for a ceasefire but has also blamed Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group for starting the fighting which has so far claimed almost 400 lives in Lebanon and 41 in Israel.

Analysts say the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter, and other key US allies such as Jordan and Egypt fear that popular anger could escalate and force them to take an aggressive stance over Israel that angers Washington and worsens the crisis.

Arab governments have often said that since the last Arab-Israeli war in 1973 they have decided to pursue peace as a means to end disputes over occupied land and the status of the Palestinians, who do not have a state.

The king's comments suggested that Arab governments could decide to rethink that approach.

''No one can predict what will happen if things get out of control,'' said the statement from the king, who was due to hold talks with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak later today.

''The Arabs have declared peace as a strategic choice... and put forward a clear and fair proposal of land for peace and have ignored (Arab) extremist calls opposing the peace proposal... but patience cannot last forever.'' The king was referring to an Arab peace initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia and adopted in a 2002 Arab summit, which offers Israel a comprehensive peace in return for land it seized in a 1967 West Asia war.

CONCERN OVER IRAN Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia also sees Hizbollah, which has the backing of many ordinary Arabs, as a tool for Shi'ite powerhouse Iran to expand its influence in the West Asia.

''I think they are scared of being against public opinion which could turn against them. As this goes on longer and more and more Lebanese are killed, it looks bad for them,'' said a Western diplomat in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly warned of Iran's ''interference'' in the region, but its criticism of Hizbollah comes amid growing Arab anger at the Israeli strikes which have ravaged Lebanon.

Most Arabs see Israel, which does not want to return all of the Arab territories it seized in 1967, as more of a threat than Iran, whose help is welcomed.

Israel launched its offensive after Hizbollah killed eight soldiers and abducted two others in a July 12 border raid.

State media said Saudi Arabia had pledged 500 million dollars to rebuild Lebanon and 250 million dollars for the Palestinians, who are also under Israeli military siege following the capture of an Israeli soldier.

Saudi Arabia has been a major political and economic sponsor of Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war was ended by a 1989 agreement made in the Saudi city of Taif.

Late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who led reconstruction efforts, was a Saudi national. Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is one of Lebanon's major foreign investors, and Saudi Arabia has played a key role in propping up the Lebanese pound.

Saudi television will hold a ''telethon'' tomorrow to raise money for Lebanon.

REUTERS MQA PM2034