Saudi envoy praised bombers

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to London is to be hauled in to the Foreign Office after he wrote a poem in praise of the Palestinian suicide bombers.

Dr Ghazi al-Ghosaibi's poem praises the bombers as martyrs bound for paradise. It says of one 18-year-old bomber who killed herself and two Israelis in a Jewish market last month: "Doors of heaven are opened for her."

The poem, which says the White House is "filled with darkness" was published last week in the Arab newspaper Al Hayat, based in London.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We regard suicide bombings as a form of terrorism, and we would like to make our views known to the ambassador."

Dr al-Ghosaibi, ambassador in London for more than a decade, is a wellknown poet in the Arab world. His verse in praise of "The Martyrs" was published on the same day as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, under heavy pressure from the US, condemned the latest attacks.

The Foreign Office stressed that the ambassador was not being summoned for a fullscale reprimand.The poem drew bitter criticism from Jewish groups. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was "appalled".