Gulf Coordination Council (GCC) Supreme Council said on Monday that the GCC’s joint defense body will meet in Doha following Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital last week.
In a statement, the GCC leaders called for measures to activate the bloc's “joint defense mechanism.” They held an emergency meeting in Doha to address the Israeli attack.
The statement slammed the attack as a “flagrant assault on the efforts of the international community aimed at achieving a ceasefire and the release of hostages and detainees.”
“This act of aggression represents a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, and a grave breach of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” it added, stressing the GCC states’ solidarity with Qatar in all measures it takes to confront the attack.
“The security of the GCC states is indivisible,” it stressed, saying that “any attack on one of them is an attack on all, in accordance with the Basic Statute of the GCC and the Joint Defense Agreement.”
The statement underlined the “readiness of the member states to harness all capabilities to support Qatar and protect its security, stability, and sovereignty against any threats.”
Proceeding from the principle emphasized by the Basic Statute of the GCC, “the leaders have directed the GCC Joint Defense Council to hold an urgent meeting in Doha, to be preceded by a meeting of the Higher Military Committee.”
“The purpose is to assess the defense posture of the member states and the sources of threat in light of the Israeli attack and direct the Unified Military Command to take the necessary executive measures to activate joint defense mechanisms and Gulf deterrence capabilities,” said the statement.
The Israeli attack “is a direct threat to joint Gulf security and to regional peace and stability,” warned the statement.
“The continuation of these aggressive policies undermines efforts to achieve peace and the future of existing understandings and agreements with Israel,” it went on to say.
Moreover, it added that “Israel's persistence in its criminal practices and its flagrant disregard for all international norms, laws and the Charter of the United Nations, will lead to serious repercussions that threaten regional and international peace and security.”
The Supreme Council called on the Security Council, the international community, and influential nations to assume their full responsibilities and take “firm and deterrent measures to stop these violations,” which are a “dangerous precedent that should not be overlooked or allowed to pass without deterrent international sanctions.”
The Supreme Council stressed “the need for the international community to fulfill its moral and legal responsibilities and to act urgently to deter Israel and put an end to its repeated violations of international law and international humanitarian law,” continued the statement.
Furthermore, it said the attack “obstructs the tireless efforts by Qatar and its role in mediating a ceasefire in Gaza.”
It underlined that the repeated Israeli attacks against several countries in the region are “a serious obstacle to international and regional efforts aimed at establishing security, peace and stability.”
“The Supreme Council called on the peace-loving nations of the world to condemn the brutal Israeli aggression against Qatar and its attempts to obstruct international efforts and diplomatic solutions aimed at stopping Israel’s attacks and the crimes of genocide in Gaza,” it said.
