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Prince al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is quite a man.

He says he doesn't want to be the prime minister of Lebanon – everyone who wants to be the prime minister of Lebanon says that – but he is immensely wealthy. True, his bank balance has sunk from $23.7bn to a mere $13.3bn since 2005 (thus sayeth Forbes magazine). But he's just announced that he wants to construct the world's tallest building – a 1km-high goliath which will dwarf his neighbour emir in Dubai who last month opened the paltry 25,000ft Burj Khalifa amid the sand dunes of his bankrupt creditors. The nephew of King Abdullah, al-Waleed understandably calls his company Kingdom Holdings. He also happens to be a major shareholder in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp – which is why you won't be reading these words in The Times. Long live Kingdom Holdings, I suppose.

Because yesterday morning, I was taking an al-Jazeera television crew around the repulsive, obscene, outrageous, filthy, stinking slums of the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps not far from my home in Beirut, a place of such squalor that the gorge rises that human beings even live there. Sabra and Chatila – yes, the site of that infamous massacre in 1982 when Lebanese Christian militiamen allied to Israel slaughtered up to 1,700 Palestinian civilians while the Israeli army surrounded the camps, watched the killings – and did nothing. They were the survivors of the great exodus or ethnic cleansing of 1948 – or their sons or grandsons – who fled Galilee for the "temporary" safety of Lebanon and, like the visa applicants of the movie Casablanca, wait and wait – and wait – to go home. Which they will never do. "I am very positive," Prince al-Waleed said when he announced his new priapic tower, to be constructed in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. "We are always looking for new investments."

Now I know that there are a lot of fine philanthropists in the Gulf, Prince al-Waleed among them, but what is one to make of all this? Afghanistan is collapsing in blood; Iraq remains a state of semi-civil war; the Israelis continue to thieve land for Jews and Jews only from the Arabs who hold the title deeds to that property – and Prince al-Waled wants to build a tower reaching a kilometre into the sky. Do the Saudis – who gave so much largesse to the Taliban (we have to forget this, of course, along with the fact that the Saudis provided most of the murderers of 9/11, which is why we bombed Kabul rather than Riyadh) – not have the slightest idea of what is going on around them?

For example, we all know that the Americans maintain stocks of weapons among their allies. They keep munitions in South Korea and, indeed, in the Arab Gulf (aka Saudi Arabia). But very quietly this week, they agreed to double their munitions supplies in Israel from $400m of weapons to $800m. Of course, Washington's gift of $9bn to Israel up to 2012 – never, of course, to be spent on those illegal colonies which are built against international law on Arab land but which Barack Obama now pusillanimously ignores – has nothing to do with this. But don't imagine that – in the event of a new "preventive" war – Israel cannot draw on these supplies for its own army and air force. After all, it was a missile taken to Saudi Arabia by the US marines for use against Iraq in 1991 that ended up in the hands of the Israeli air force as part of a quid pro quo for not joining in the war against Baghad - and which was subsequently used to kill civilians in a Lebanese ambulance in 1996.

But these days, Arab compliance reaches new heights every day. Now, for example, we have the Egyptian government – and its ever popular president (see the American-approved presidential election results which are way above 90 per cent) – building a wall around Rafah, part of the vast mass of poverty which constitutes Gaza, thus preventing food, gasoline (and, no doubt, weapons) from reaching the trapped Palestinians of this prison camp. A camp, one has to add, which meets with the full approval of Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara, whose honourable involvement in the invasion of Iraq has now been outdone by is extraordinary success as peace envoy to the Middle East.

Egypt's intelligence boss (a certain Mr Sulieman who might be the next president of Egypt were it not for his pattern of heart attacks) approves of this wall, which is a very definite assistance to Israel and which will yet further impoverish the Palestinians of Gaza to the point at which the inhabitants of Sabra and Chatila might actually feel themselves lucky they don't live in "Palestine".

In Israel itself, the deputy foreign minister humiliates the Turkish ambassador – while complaining about an anti-Semitic series on Turkish television – by forcing the diplomat to sit on a low sofa, refusing to shake hands and addressing him, with two colleagues, from higher chairs. The foreign minister himself, our dear friend Mr Lieberman, has now acquired the habit – every time poor old (and I mean old) US envoy George Mitchell raises the question of Jerusalem – of walking out of the room. That's what Obama's point man is worth. Israel's crazies – Netanyahu is a moderate chap by comparison – now prove that Israel can be just as much a banana Raj as the rest of the Middle East.

But fear not. The princes and the emirs and the caliphs and the presidents will be able to outbid each other in towers and hotels. I have a bigger painting set than yours. I have a sharper pencil, more crayons, a larger train set (Qatar, please note), a bigger bear than yours. And the world will watch this tragedy and marvel at the toy boxes now being opened in the Middle East. And, by the way, how many crayons do the children of Sabra and Chatila have?

Who wrote this? Where and when???

Please state your sources when you post something of this nature.

OK, Al Waleed is an idiot for wanting to compete with Dubai, but the article sounds like it was written by one of those FOR-HIRE, anti-Saudi, Lebanese journalists. For example, he says, “They (the US) keep munitions in South Korea and, indeed, in the Arab Gulf (aka Saudi Arabia)”, but conveniently ignores the fact that the largest US militarily base in the region is located in Qatar not in Saudi Arabia!!!!

Tom Jones wrote:Who wrote this? Where and when???

Please state your sources when you post something of this nature.

OK, Al Waleed is an idiot for wanting to compete with Dubai, but the article sounds like it was written by one of those FOR-HIRE, anti-Saudi, Lebanese journalists. For example, he says, “They (the US) keep munitions in South Korea and, indeed, in the Arab Gulf (aka Saudi Arabia)”, but conveniently ignores the fact that the largest US militarily base in the region is located in Qatar not in Saudi Arabia!!!!

Robert Fisk, The Independent, 16 January 2010. I think you mean Bahrain

Robert Fisk?? You mean the veteran, long time Middle East correspondent for the Independent!!!???

I am totally surprised!!

Although he is known for his radical political views (he doubted the truth about the 9/11 events), he nonetheless should’ve known better not write all that erroneous and pointless rambling!!!

Maybe it’s time for him to retire. He’s getting pretty old, and apparently is starting to lose it!!

Oh….as to the US military base in the region:

No, I didn’t mean Bahrain. The base in Bahrain is a small to below-average size naval base, whereas the base in Qatar, called Al Udeid, is actually 2 bases in one, an air force base and an army base, and it’s huge in terms of size, facilities and uses!!

Google it!

The americans I heard are getting bahrains old port as things migrate to the recently built port at Hidd.

Tom Jones wrote:Robert Fisk?? You mean the veteran, long time Middle East correspondent for the Independent!!!???

I am totally surprised!!

Although he is known for his radical political views (he doubted the truth about the 9/11 events), he nonetheless should’ve known better not write all that erroneous and pointless rambling!!!

Maybe it’s time for him to retire. He’s getting pretty old, and apparently is starting to lose it!!

Oh….as to the US military base in the region:

No, I didn’t mean Bahrain. The base in Bahrain is a small to below-average size naval base, whereas the base in Qatar, called Al Udeid, is actually 2 bases in one, an air force base and an army base, and it’s huge in terms of size, facilities and uses!!

Google it!

What did you actually object to in the article?

dee7o wrote:

Tom Jones wrote:Robert Fisk?? You mean the veteran, long time Middle East correspondent for the Independent!!!???

I am totally surprised!!

Although he is known for his radical political views (he doubted the truth about the 9/11 events), he nonetheless should’ve known better not write all that erroneous and pointless rambling!!!

Maybe it’s time for him to retire. He’s getting pretty old, and apparently is starting to lose it!!

Oh….as to the US military base in the region:

No, I didn’t mean Bahrain. The base in Bahrain is a small to below-average size naval base, whereas the base in Qatar, called Al Udeid, is actually 2 bases in one, an air force base and an army base, and it’s huge in terms of size, facilities and uses!!

Google it!

What did you actually object to in the article?

Well… I had already pointed out one major blunder in the article.

But for starters, the article is entirely absurd and incoherent, in its objective and in its content.

What does Prince Al-Waleed or the Gulf emirs have to do with Sabra and Shatila, or with Israel and the Palestinians, or with Iraq and Afghanistan, or with the wall to be built by Egypt in Gaza….etc.??

What does Mr. Fisk expect Al Waleed and the Gulf emirs to do?? Give all the money they have to all these causes?? Or to solve all these problems with one big, fat check??? And even if they could, why is it their responsibility alone?? What about the super powers and the other rich nations!!

The Gulf rulers (and Gulf individuals) already give a lot to charities, and to Moslem and Arab causes -- esp. the Saudis and the Emiratis.

For example, he says that the Saudis gave too much money to the Taliban (I assume he means when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and were considered good), yet he implies the Saudis don’t give enough to today’s Afghanistan??

He says the Saudis provided the 9/11 murderers (as he called them), yet he questions the 9/11 events in other articles!

He says the Times (of London) won’t print the story on Al-Waleed (wanting to build the new tower in Jeddah). Why??? He ridculously says because Al-Waleed owns a small part of Newscop which owns The Times!!!!!??????

Mr. Fish is clearly confusing and mixing so many unrelated issues in an incoherent and haphazard way!

Al-Waleed is a private wealthy businessman (and does not represent the Saudi government). Yes he is known to be flamboyant and foolish at times (like in this attempt to build the 1-km tower). But that’s his problem!! A problem that has nothing to do with the Gulf rulers or emirs, or with Israel and Egypt, or with Iraq and Afghanistan, or with Sabra and Shatila……………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why do A LOT of people in levant region always expect from us as GCC nations to always share our wealth with them??

We are not responsible for their conflicts & we don't want to take part in it.
Either ways, it's impossible to please people even if you gave them your own daily loaf of bread.

Who gives a damn about Palestineans or Israelis or Lebanese issues or even economy anyways.
All are most welcomed to our country, but no need to invovle us with your issues.

Where were they back in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and even 60's. They knew the route to our region when the damn oil was discovered.

I don't want to stereotype anyone here, but these are my thoughts based on politics & economy.

And even when you guys give, some are ungrateful!!

Despite the tremendous help and vast amounts of money given to the Palestinians by Kuwait and Saudi, some Palestinians were dancing in the streets when Saddam invaded Kuwait! Another Arab country sided with Saddam despite the free oil and huge aid they were getting from Saudi and Kuwait!!!

Tom Jones wrote:And even when you guys give, some are ungrateful!!

Despite the tremendous help and vast amounts of money given to the Palestinians by Kuwait and Saudi, some Palestinians were dancing in the streets when Saddam invaded Kuwait! Another Arab country sided with Saddam despite the free oil and huge aid they were getting from Saudi and Kuwait!!!

Well said, Tom!

lol some more anti-arab anti muslim crap to create tension within the muslim land.

ok the emirs etc did alot for palestine i.e Sheikh Zayed he did alot for the palestinians, google it and see what he did. Again see what the present emirs are doing for palestinian people. Google and see what Sadam Hussain did. But we all know what USA does to good people dont we know

KSA does alot for aghanistan. How do you think Taliban was able to operate? Do you think the princess, emirs etc will declare on the newspaper they gave this much of money to support taliban against usa? Do you really think everyone likes USA?

Should you be blaming prince waleed for the worlds problems or should you be blaming USA? does prince waleed kill people? nope DUH

lol