Yemen FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Arab-Islamic Consensus to Stop Israeli War on Gaza, Lebanon

Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Shaya Zindani. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Shaya Zindani. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Yemen FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Arab-Islamic Consensus to Stop Israeli War on Gaza, Lebanon

Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Shaya Zindani. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Shaya Zindani. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Shaya Zindani underscored the Arab and Islamic consensus to end Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he hoped Monday’s Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh would come up with unified vision on stopping the Israeli assault.

Yemen is the current chair of the Arab League. Riyadh is hosting on Sunday a ministerial preparatory meeting ahead of the summit.

The summit is dedicated to discussing the ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinian and Lebanese territories, as well as regional developments. It aims to coordinate stances between member countries.

Several Arab and Islamic countries, starting with Saudi Arabia, have exerted major efforts since the previous summit – also held in Riyadh – to reach an end to the wars on Gaza and Lebanon, added Zindani.

He highlighted the efforts carried out throughout the year by the Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and their joint Arab ministerial committee, chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah.

Moreover, he noted that Arab and Islamic countries were not the only ones in consensus over the need to end the war, but the several countries across the globe want to see an end to the hostilities.

Asked about the means and opportunities available to Arab and Islamic countries to end the wars, he cited the efforts that have been exerted so far through international relations, especially Saudi Arabia’s ties with other countries and its Arab, Islamic and global standing.

He hoped the summit would come up with a unified stance on ending the wars, despite Israel’s intransigence.

Yemen had assumed the presidency of the Arab League council in September.

Zindani said at the time that “national and historic responsibility demands that we make this round a serious starting point for addressing emerging crises and overcoming all challenges through a pure Arab will.”

He underscored the importance of coming up with unified Arab action and to apply international pressure on Israel to make it stop its crimes in Gaza and throughout the Palestinian territories.



Bahrain to Host Gulf Ministerial Meeting to Discuss Regional Developments

The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)
The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)
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Bahrain to Host Gulf Ministerial Meeting to Discuss Regional Developments

The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)
The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)

Bahrain is hosting on Wednesday the 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to discuss regional and international developments.

It will be held under the chairmanship of Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and current President of the Ministerial Council Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, with the participation of GCC foreign ministers.

The third joint ministerial meeting of the GCC-Canada Strategic Dialogue will also be held on the sidelines. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand is expected to attend.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said the ministerial council will review reports on the implementation of decisions issued by the GCC Supreme Council's 46th summit, held in Manama in December 2025.

The council will discuss memoranda and reports submitted by ministerial and technical committees and the General Secretariat, as well as matters related to strategic dialogues and relations between GCC member states and international countries and blocs.

Albudaiwi said the third joint GCC-Canada Strategic Dialogue Ministerial Meeting will tackle several issues, including ways to deepen cooperation between the GCC and Canada through the Joint Action Plan for 2025-2029.

The plan outlines priorities and mechanisms to strengthen cooperation in political and security affairs, trade and investment, energy, education, health, and other vital fields.


Saudi Arabia, Yemen Sign $150 Mn Petroleum Supply Deal to Support Energy Sector, Power Plants

Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)
Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Yemen Sign $150 Mn Petroleum Supply Deal to Support Energy Sector, Power Plants

Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)
Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed on Tuesday an agreement worth $150 million to supply petroleum derivatives for power plants across various Yemeni governorates.

The agreement was signed under the patronage of Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Shaya Mohsin Zindani and is part of Saudi Arabia’s support through the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) to the Yemeni Ministry of Electricity and Energy, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

It was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber.

The petroleum derivatives support, consisting of diesel and mazut, will fuel more than 70 electricity generation plants across various Yemeni governorates, helping boost the stability and continuity of electricity services and support vital sectors linked to electrical energy.

The support reflects Saudi Arabia’s longstanding commitment to supporting the Yemeni people and alleviating their humanitarian suffering, particularly amid rising temperatures.

It is expected to contribute to stimulating commercial activity, creating job opportunities, and promoting economic growth in Yemen.

An additional agreement was also signed between the Yemeni oil company PetroMasila, the Yemeni Ministry of Electricity and Energy, and SDRPY to support the sustainability of PetroMasila’s operations as a state-owned company, strengthening its capabilities, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring continuity of services in support of the Yemeni government.

The initiative will be implemented under a comprehensive governance framework to ensure that assistance reaches the final beneficiaries, through a supreme committee linked to the prime minister and comprising several Yemeni entities responsible for overseeing and monitoring the distribution of petroleum derivatives to power plants based on the identified needs of electricity generation facilities across Yemen.

SDRPY provided petroleum derivatives grants in 2018 valued at $180 million, one in 2021 worth $422 million, another in 2022 amounting to $200 million, and one in 2026 valued at $81.2 million.

The current $150 million grant comes as searing summer temperatures approach and amid an urgent need to improve electricity service quality to better daily life and living standards for the Yemeni people.


OIC Condemns Israel’s Withholding of Palestinian Tax Revenues

 Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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OIC Condemns Israel’s Withholding of Palestinian Tax Revenues

 Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned on Tuesday the Israeli Knesset’s approval of a “racist” bill to expand mechanisms for confiscating Palestinian tax revenues, in “flagrant violation of international law and existing bilateral agreements”.

It warned of the “gravity of this illegal measure, which constitutes an assault on the rights of the Palestinian people and their financial resources.”

The move will “exacerbate the deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions in the Palestinian Territories,” it added.

The General Secretariat renewed its call on the international community “to shoulder its responsibilities by pressuring the Israeli authorities to stop this official piracy and to immediately and unconditionally release all Palestinian tax revenues being illegally withheld.”