Make it a Million: Member of Saudi Royal Family Offers Additional $900,000 for Kidnapping an Israeli Soldier

Not to be outdone by a Saudi Muslim cleric’s offer of $100,000 last week, a Saudi prince is raising the ante to a cool million for the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.

According to Ynet, Saudi Arabia's Prince Khaled bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud said on Saturday that he would award $900,000 to anyone who abducts an Israeli soldier, suggesting this be used to negotiate the release of more Palestinians from Israeli prison:

In an interview with Saudi TV, bin Talal stressed that his offer was in response to a similar offer made by a Saudi cleric who earlier this week said he would give $100,000 to anyone who would kidnap an Israeli soldier.

"Al-Qarni offered $100,000 to whoever abducts (an Israeli soldier) and I say to him – I sympathize with you and am offering $900,000 to put the figure at $1 million," he said.

Prince Khaled is a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah.

The earlier offer to which Prince Khaled was referring: Saudi cleric Awad Al-Qarni posted a message on his Facebook page offering a $100,000 reward to any Palestinian who kidnaps an Israeli soldier.

Al-Qarni wrote (as translated by MEMRI):

"Media reports have circulated the news that the Zionist settlers are paying large sums of money to anyone who [can] kill the released Palestinian prisoners, and in response to those criminals, I announce to the world that I [hereby] commit to pay a reward and a prize in the amount of $100,000 to any Palestinian who imprisons [i.e. takes as a hostage] an Israeli soldier inside Palestine, for the purpose of prisoner exchange."

The Saudi cleric was referring to a report that one Israeli family offered to reward anyone who catches the murderer of Shlomo Libman, killed by terrorists in 1998. According to Ynet, Al-Qarni’s Facebook post received more than 1,000 “Likes.”

In the deal to free soldier Gilad Shalit from the kidnappers holding him in Gaza for more than five years, Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including those serving multiple life sentences for committing some of the bloodiest terror attacks against Israeli civilians. The first 477 were freed earlier this month on the same day Shalit returned to Israel. The second 550 are expected to be released in about six weeks.

Some of the freed terrorists have already stated that they would return to attacking Israelis.