Terrorist Attack on Riyadh Refinery Draws Condemnation

The Riyadh refinery. (AFP file photo)
The Riyadh refinery. (AFP file photo)
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Terrorist Attack on Riyadh Refinery Draws Condemnation

The Riyadh refinery. (AFP file photo)
The Riyadh refinery. (AFP file photo)

The terrorist drone attack against the Riyadh refinery in the Saudi capital on Friday has drawn widespread condemnation.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen slammed the cowardly terrorist attack, saying it targets not only the Kingdom, but the stability and security global energy supplies.

He reiterated his call on the international community to stand by Riyadh in taking deterrent measures against the terrorists that support and carry out these acts.

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Dr. Nayef al-Hajraf denounced the attack and previous ones that have targeted the Kingdom’s vital installations and civilian locations.

Such attacks not only target the security and economy of the Kingdom, but the security of the Gulf, region and world, he added.

The GCC stands by Saudi Arabia, whose security is indivisible from the Gulf, he stressed. He added that the council supports all the measures Riyadh takes to protect its territories and confront such attacks, and those who commit and support them.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry underscored Manama’s unyielding solidarity with Riyadh against all acts that target its security. It stressed the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities in condemning these terrorist and cowardly acts that threaten the security of the region.

The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry condemned the terrorist attack that targets Saudi Arabis’s vital installations and civilian locations, as well as global energy supplies. It noted that the persistence of such attacks in recent weeks is a dangerous escalation that undermines the security and stability of the region.

The UAE reiterated its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia, its stand with the Kingdom against all threats to its security and stability, and its support for all measures taken for the security and safety of its citizens and residents.

It emphasized that “the security of the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are indivisible, and that any threat facing the Kingdom is considered by the Emirates a threat to its security and stability.”

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry expressed its deep and complete condemnation of the ongoing cowardly attacks against the Kingdom that are a direct threat to the security and stability of Saudi Arabia and its people. The attacks are also a threat to global energy supplies.

It renewed its solidarity with Kingdom and support for all the measures it takes to protect its security and sovereignty.



Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
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Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

Qatar's Prime Minister said in Davos on Tuesday he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland, two days after the ceasefire Qatar helped broker came into effect in Gaza, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani cautioned that Gazans -- and not any other country -- should dictate the way the enclave will be governed.

"We hope to see the PA back in Gaza. We hope to see a government that will really address the issues of the people over there. And there is a long way to go with Gaza and the destruction," he said.

How Gaza will be governed after the war was not directly addressed in the deal between Israel and Hamas movement that led to an immediate ceasefire and hostage releases after nearly 15 months of talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

Israel has rejected any governing role for Hamas, which ran Gaza before the war, but it has been almost equally opposed to rule by the Palestinian Authority, the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that has limited governing power in the West Bank.

The PA, dominated by the Fatah faction created by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, faces opposition from rival faction Hamas, which drove the PA out of Gaza in 2007 after a brief war.