Saudi-Qatari council eager to preserve the stability of Arab, Muslim countries

May 3, 2017

Jeddah, May 3: During the fifth meeting of the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council on Tuesday council members said they will use discretion in dealing with the various developments in Arab and Muslim countries to ensure the preservation of the safety and stability of these countries, and the prosperity of their peoples.

stability

The meeting was chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy prime minister and minister of interior, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani, Qatari prime minister and minister of interior.

Meeting participants stressed that the fight against terrorism is a shared international responsibility that requires concerted international efforts at all levels: Security, thought, finance, media and military.

Prince Naif expressed satisfaction with the constructive cooperation between the two countries in all fields, made possible by “the guidance and support of the leadership of the two countries.”

The following joint statement was issued at the end of the meeting: Upon directions from the Saudi King Salman and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to develop and promote the relations between the two countries and to consolidate them in order to strengthen the distinguished ties between the two peoples, at the invitation of Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser paid a visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday accompanied by a high-level delegation, the fifth meeting held by the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council.

The council commended the positive results of the visit of King Salman to Qatar, which brought relations between the two countries to a new stage and which reflected the desire of the leadership of the two countries to promote integration in all fields.

The two sides exchanged views and in-depth talks that covered many bilateral and regional issues of common interest.

The two sides welcomed the release of Qatari and Saudi citizens who were abducted in Iraq, praising the efforts to secure their release and see them return safely to their countries and their families.

The council expresses satisfaction with the fact that this serious crisis came to an end.

Participants discussed bilateral cooperation in the various fields. Particularly, the council commended Saudi Arabia for hosting the “Made in Qatar” exhibition in 2016, the first place where it was held. The exhibition witnessed a positive interaction with the Saudi business community and served as an opportunity to broaden economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The two sides also welcomed the signing of an agreement in the field of air transport services, as well as the third executive program in the field of education between the ministries of education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Both the Saudi and the Qatari side presented a number of memorandums of understanding in many fields, with each promising to study them and present the results to the Joint Preparatory Committee of the Coordination Council at its next session.

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News Network
May 6,2024

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The Israeli regime is forcibly evacuating Palestinians from the eastern part of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid the prospect of its widely-discouraged ground invasion.

“The estimate is around 100,000 people,” an Israeli military spokesman told journalists on Monday when asked how many people were being evacuated.

International organizations, including the United Nations, have repeatedly warned the regime against invading the city, citing its hosting around 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a ground assault on Rafah would “put the final nail in the coffin” for humanitarian aid operations in the Gaza Strip.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also said, “Any ground operation would mean more suffering and death,” with an official saying “It could be a slaughter of civilians.”

Multiple aid agencies, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, have likewise warned against a Rafah offensive.

The NRC said such an invasion “would profoundly exacerbate the already catastrophic levels of need and the humanitarian emergency for millions of civilians with nowhere left to go.”

The official alleged Hamas had killed three Israeli forces on Sunday, attacking them from Rafah.

The evacuation order came a sat least 22 people lost their lives in the regime’s airstrikes killed in Rafah earlier on Monday.

Rafah’s evacuation “is part of our plans to dismantle Hamas,” the Israeli spokesman added, referring to the Palestinian resistance movement that has been defending Gaza in the face of the war.

The Palestinians have fled there from the ravages of a war that the regime began waging against Gaza on October 7, following a retaliatory operation by the coastal sliver’s resistance groups.

At least 34,683 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 78,018 others injured so far during the brutal military onslaught.

On Friday, Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on carrying out a ground invasion of Rafah was a key stumbling block in negotiations aimed at a truce agreement.

The Israeli premier has said the regime would go ahead with invading the city “with or without” a truce.

Hamas has, however, asserted that the regime has failed to defeat the resistance during the war.

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News Network
April 26,2024

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The US military has started the construction of a controversial maritime pier off the coast of Gaza, claiming that it seeks to bring aid into the besieged strip.

"I can confirm that US military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden ordered the construction of the pier in March. Shortly afterwards, the US deployed naval ships to the Eastern Mediterranean to construct the "floating pier" that will reportedly receive aid from Cyprus, and send it onward to Gaza.

The US announcement came amid mounting pressure on Israel to allow aid into Gaza as the UN and other aid agencies have warned of imminent famine due to Israel's prevention of the land-based delivery of life-saving aid to Gaza.

The deputy UN food chief said on Thursday the northern Gaza Strip is still heading toward a famine.

World Food Program (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau called for a greater volume of aid to be allowed into Gaza and appealed for Israel to allow direct access from the southern Ashdod port to the Erez crossing.

The pier is scheduled to become operational in May.

Reuters quoted a senior Biden administration official, who asked not to be named, as saying that aid coming off the corridor will still need to pass through Israeli checkpoints on land, raising questions about possible delays even after aid reaches shore.

That is despite the aid having already been inspected by Israel in Cyprus prior to being shipped to the besieged strip.

According to the official, nearly 1,000 US troops would support the military effort, including in coordination cells in Cyprus and Israel.

The Israeli military said its troops would protect the US troops who are setting up the pier and provide logistics support for it.

Last month, experts said Israel backed the US plan to construct the pier in order to retain control over the aid deliveries and as a way to displace Palestinians from the besieged strip via the Mediterranean Sea, ahead of an expected invasion of the southern town of Rafah, where nearly more than half of Gaza's population of 2.4 have sought shelter from Israeli strikes elsewhere in Gaza.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 34,305 Palestinians and injured 77,293 others.

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