GCC Ministerial Council Demands Int’l Protection for Palestinian People

The GCC foreign ministers meet in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA)
The GCC foreign ministers meet in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA)
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GCC Ministerial Council Demands Int’l Protection for Palestinian People

The GCC foreign ministers meet in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA)
The GCC foreign ministers meet in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA)

The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) demanded on Sunday an immediate ceasefire and end to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the 159th GCC Ministerial Council in Riyadh on Sunday, the FMs also called for ensuring the delivery of aid to the Palestinian people, calling for providing international protection for them.

The closing statement of the meeting urged the international community to take a decisive stance to implement a ceasefire and protect civilians.

The necessary measures must be taken in line with international law to counter the Israeli government’s practices and collective punishment against the people of Gaza.

The ministers hailed efforts exerted by several countries and organizations to stop the Israeli assault, while expressing their disappointment with the veto of the ceasefire draft proposal that was submitted at the United Nations Security Council. The draft was submitted by Algeria on behalf of Arab countries.

The FMs rejected any Israeli justifications to continue the attack on Gaza, condemning the ongoing targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, such as camps and hospitals.

Moreover, they underscored their support for the Palestinian people in remaining on their land, rejecting Israeli measures aimed at the forced displacement of the residents of Gaza.

The statement praised the outcomes of the consultative meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia in February to discuss the war on Gaza.

It also expressed support for Qatar and Egypt’s efforts to reach a humanitarian ceasefire in the enclave.

It hoped these efforts would succeed so that the siege could be lifted off Gaza. Furthermore, it urged the international community to assume its responsibility towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict without double standards.

The FMs praised South Africa for filing a genocide complaint against Israel before the International Court of Justice, welcoming the preliminary ruling that held Israeli legally responsible before the international community for its violations against innocent civilians.

They condemned the statements made by extremist Israeli ministers about the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from Gaza and their support for the re-occupation of the enclave.

They reiterated that the Palestinian cause and ending the Israeli occupation remain at the heart of Arab affairs. They renewed the GCC’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.



GCC Commits to Peace and Good Neighborliness, Says Security of Gulf States Is ‘Indivisible’

Heads of delegations are seen at the 167th Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Manama on Wednesday. (GCC)
Heads of delegations are seen at the 167th Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Manama on Wednesday. (GCC)
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GCC Commits to Peace and Good Neighborliness, Says Security of Gulf States Is ‘Indivisible’

Heads of delegations are seen at the 167th Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Manama on Wednesday. (GCC)
Heads of delegations are seen at the 167th Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Manama on Wednesday. (GCC)

The 167th Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned on Wednesday the latest Iranian attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan as “flagrant violations against their sovereignty and security of their people.”

Meeting in Manama, the council slammed the attacks as violations of international law, United Nations Charter and values of good neighborliness.

“These hostile acts do not serve any understanding or rapprochement, but rather distance peoples from one another, undermine the foundations of trust, sow discord and close the doors of dialogue to which the GCC states have always called for,” it said in a statement.

“Aggression does not build relations, and intimidation does not create stability,” it stressed, while expressing its full solidarity with Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

“The security of the GCC states is indivisible, and that any attack against one of them is an attack against them all,” it went on to say.

The council reassured the citizens of its states and residents on their territories that the joint defense capabilities and air defense systems are confronting these attacks with high efficiency and readiness, and that the leaderships of the GCC states are moving forward in safeguarding the security and stability of the region.

“These attacks will only increase the cohesion, determination and resolve of the peoples of the GCC states to resist and confront them,” continued the statement.

Moreover, it underscored the right of GCC states to defend themselves “individually and collectively, and to respond to this aggression by all legitimate means, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, which guarantees the inherent right of states to defend themselves if an armed attack occurs against them.”

“The council holds Iran fully responsible for these acts and their grave repercussions on the security of the region, international navigation and energy supplies, and demands their immediate cessation and a complete end to any targeting of the GCC states, their interests and their citizens,” urged the statement.

The council called upon the Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities in condemning this aggression and holding its perpetrators accountable, in a manner that ensures respect for the sovereignty of states and the preservation of regional and international peace and security.

The council, while renewing the GCC states’ commitment to the option of peace, good neighborliness and diplomatic solutions as a means of settling disputes, posed “a fundamental question to the aggressor: How can future relations be built amid the continuation of these attacks and the insistence on pursuing them?”

“Persistence in the path of aggression will only lead to further isolation, while the door to understanding remains open to those who choose the language of wisdom and good neighborliness,” it added.


Saudi Foreign Ministry: Saudi Arabia Condemns Blatant Iranian Attacks Against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan

Saudi Foreign Ministry: Saudi Arabia Condemns Blatant Iranian Attacks Against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan
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Saudi Foreign Ministry: Saudi Arabia Condemns Blatant Iranian Attacks Against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan

Saudi Foreign Ministry: Saudi Arabia Condemns Blatant Iranian Attacks Against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Iranian attacks and flagrant violations of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, considering them a threat to the security and safety of their territories and airspace.

In a statement, the ministry said: “The Kingdom affirms that the continuation of these attacks threatens regional and international security and undermines efforts aimed at de-escalation and the restoration of security and stability in the region.”

The Kingdom also reiterated its full solidarity with Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, and its support for all measures taken by these nations to safeguard their sovereignty, security, stability, and the safety of their citizens and residents.


Saudi Foreign Minister Arrives in Bahrain for GCC Ministerial Meeting

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrives in Manama  - SPA
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrives in Manama - SPA
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Saudi Foreign Minister Arrives in Bahrain for GCC Ministerial Meeting

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrives in Manama  - SPA
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrives in Manama - SPA

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrived in Manama on Wednesday to participate in the 167th meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministerial Council, chaired by Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs, in his capacity as the current session chair, and attended by foreign ministers of the GCC member states.

He was welcomed at Manama International Airport by Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi.