Ain-Al-Yaqeen - October 8, 2004

		October 8, 2004

THE KINGDOM CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TERRORISM EMANATES FROM ITS BELIEF THAT TERRORISM IS A DANGEROUS INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON.
KING FAHD: VIOLENCE, INJUSTICE AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORLD NECESSITATE THE SPREADING OF THE CULTURE OF PEACE, PROMOTION OF HUMAN RESPECT, AND STRENGTHENING THE PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE, TOLERANCE AND EQUALITY.
THE GCC DEFENCE MINISTERS REVIEW WAYS OF ENHANCING THE PENINSULA SHIELD.
INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND ITS MASSACRES IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz chaired the weekly Cabinet session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the contents of contacts, messages, talks and consultations held during the previous days with a number of leaders of brotherly Arab and friendly countries on the latest developments at the international arena and the Kingdom's stands towards them.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stressed that the tragic events and bloody conflicts witnessed by the international arena necessitate that the world community and the United Nations work earnestly to unite efforts to strengthen dialogue, and improve understanding and acquaintance among nations and civilizations.

These also call for the spreading of the culture of peace to promote human respect, strengthen the principles of justice, tolerance and equality, and to renounce violence, injustice and racial discrimination.

The Cabinet called on the United Nations and the world community for intervention to halt Israel's annihilation of the Palestinian people, the demolition of their houses, the escalation of the racial aggression and its terrorism in Gaza Strip, especially in Jabalya Camp and Rafah.

The Cabinet also demanded that a unanimous international action be taken to stop Israeli terrorist practices and outrageous aggression aiming to annihilate the Palestinian people, and called on the Quartet Committee and the United Nations Security Council to adopt a strict stand against these criminal acts that contradict the simplest rights of human beings.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Fuad Ibn Abdul Salam Al-Farsi said that the Kingdom renewed its call for all countries to mobilize all efforts for enhancing international cooperation to combat terrorism, its instigators, and financers.

The Kingdom's call emanates from its belief that terrorism is an international dangerous phenomenon that should be confronted with the cooperation and solidarity of all countries.

King Fahd renewed the Kingdom's rejection and condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, its cooperation with the world community to eradicate terrorism, and its full support for the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council relating to terrorism.

The Kingdom's desire for hosting an international conference for combating terrorism in February, 2005 emanates from its firm stand against this phenomenon and the necessity of cooperation among world community in fighting it, the Minister said.

Reviewing a report on the Campaign of National Awareness and Water Conservation launched last Saturday, the Cabinet emphasized the essential importance of water and the rationing of its uses since water is extremely important for the continuation of life.

The Cabinet welcomed the speech of the Crown Prince on this occasion which stressed the necessity of preserving water resources and conserving them. "We should fully preserve and be serious about the dear resources of water, and should set the example for the world in water uses,'' the Crown Prince said. Dr. Al-Farsi said the Council then reviewed the local items on its agenda and issued the following decisions:

The Cabinet endorsed the final account of King Fahd National Library for the fiscal year 1423 - 1424 H.

An additional member representing the Saudi Geological Survey Commission was added to the board of the Consultative Commission for Maritime Scientific Research.

The Cabinet approved a proposal submitted by the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology to nominate Eng. Rashid Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Rashid, Dr. Saad Ibn Atiyyah Al Ghamdi and Dr. Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Alabdul Qader as representatives of the private sector in the board of directors of the Saudi Posts Establishment for three years, effective at the time of issuing this decision.

The Council of Ministers approved the recommendations of the symposium titled "Ways of enhancing cooperation to achieve the objectives of comprehensive auditing and control of performance", recently held in the Kingdom.

The Cabinet also approved the assignment of Prince Dr. Turki Ibn Saud Ibn Mohammed Al Saud as Vice President of King Abdul Aziz City for Sciences and Technology for Research Institutes, and approved as well the appointment of Dr. Abdul Aziz Ibn Ali Alaqla as Director General of the Girls Education Department in the Jeddah Branch of the Ministry of Education.

On the other hand and upon the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Military Service Council, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Deputy Prime Minister, Commander of the National Guard and Deputy Chairman of the Military Service Council, headed the meeting of the Military Service Council with the presence of Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General and Second Deputy Chairman of the Military Service Council.

In Kuwait Defense ministers of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states met to review their defense strategies and prospects of bolstering a joint force.

Kuwait's Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah opened the meeting by backing efforts to "build defense strategies for our states ... and to achieve capability and readiness to repulse any (external) aggression".

In a press statement published, the minister also called for "bolstering the Peninsula Shield to become a protective defense for our countries in these delicate conditions in our region".

Opening the third meeting of the GCC joint þdefense council, Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh þ þJaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah stated he hoped the council would increase support for the GCC Penninsula Shield Forces.þ þ

In his opening speech, Sheikh Jaber acknowledged the importance of þ þdeveloping joint GCC strategies including upgrading defense forces and keeping þ them in complete readiness to encounter any contingency that might emerge in the state members of the GCC.þ þ

He said that giving more support to the Penninsula Shield Forces at the delicate times the region is going through would be a conducive factor in keeping the region safe and trouble-free.þ þ

He indicated that the meeting embodied the enactment of the GCC þ þjoint defense agreement which is based on the principle of joint defense and joint security of the lands, waters, and air spaces of all GCC states. This þ principle had been agreed upon during the 24th GCC summit which took place in Kuwait in December, 2003, he said.þ

On his part, the GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah noted at the meeting that the current year has witnessed a new stage in joint defense cooperation among GCC states, exemplified by assigning defense þ strategies to the joint defense council and its affiliate: the higher military committee.þ

The GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said that the pace of military cooperation between members of the six-nation alliance would accelerate. He said the ministers reviewed several issues including the 5,000-strong Peninsula Shield joint force, safe communications and a cooperation belt.

The higher military committee, he said, has submitted to the council a þnumber of recommendations and draft resolutions concerning such issues as the Penninsula Defense Forces, the combined land, sea, and air forces, and the þproper application of secure communications.

Meanwhile Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, left Kuwait after having taken part in the 23rd conference of defense ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries.

He was seen off by Kuwait's Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, Saudi Ambassador to Kuwait Ahmed Ibn Hamad Al Yahya and senior officials.

Earlier, Prince Abdul Rahman met with the staff members of the Saudi embassy in Kuwait.

In a statement to the press following the end of the joint defense council's conference, Prince Abdul Rahman described the meeting as successful.

In reply to a question on the Saudi initiative to deploy Islamic forces in Iraq, he said the initiative is a matter of the past, confirming that nothing has been decided in this regard.

Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul-Aziz, the Deputy Defense and Aviation Minister, led the Kingdom's delegation to the 23rd meeting of the Defense Ministers of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council.

The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti Defense Minister, Prince Abdul Rahman was accompanied by a high-ranking military delegation.

On the other hand the General Secretariat of Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned Israel's continual aggressive operations in Gaza which led to the Killing of scores and wounding hundreds of civilian Palestinians.

In a statement issued, the Secretariat called on the world community, the Quartet Committee and the United Nations Security Council to promptly intervene to halt Israel's state-terrorism and continual aggression on the unarmed Palestinian people.

The conferees have discussed several issues related to military cooperation þ amongst the GCC states during their meeting.þ þ

Sheikh Jaber told the meeting he was glad for the decisions and þ þrecommendations issued during the meeting, which, he added, reflect that the þGCC states were serious in developing their joint military forces.þ þ

He added that the meeting also activates the joint defense agreement signed by the GCC members.þ þ

Bahraini Defense Minister General Sheikh Khalifa Ibn Ahmad Al-Khalifa, whose country will host the next GCC defense ministers meeting, acknowledged þ the importance of such meetings in reinforcing the military capabilities of the GCC countries.þ þ

Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prime Abdul-Rahman Ibn Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud þtold reporters after the meeting that the Saudi initiative to send Islamic forces to Iraq had been raised earlier, but does not exist now.þ

He said that restoring security in Iraq was the responsibility of the þ þoccupation forces there. þ

GCC Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman Al-Attiyah told reporters þ þthe GCC states do not have intentions to send any forces to Iraq.þ þ

Asked about efforts to combat terrorism, the official said the þ þterror-related issues were a specialty of interior ministers who will convene þin Kuwait on Saturday.þ þ

He said the defense ministers discussed issues such as boosting the GCC þPeninsula Shield Forces, and joint military projects, and the GCC plans to þlaunch a satellite for defense purposes, and joint military exercises.þ

He added the meeting recommendations were also related to such exercises þ and to the GCC satellite and the secure communications systems among the GCC þ countries.

He noted that studies related to launching a GCC satellite were þ þstill in progress. The GCC Joint Defense Council sent cables of thanks þto the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the þPrime Minister Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah for their support to the GCC þefforts.þ þ

The meeting was attended also by Assistant Secretary-General for military þaffairs Major General Ali bin Salem Al-Mimari, in addition to the UAE Finance þand Industry Affairs Minister Dr. Mohammed Ibn Khirbash and Omani Defense þ Minister Badr Ibn Saeed and Foreign Minister Ahmad Al-Mahmoud.

Meanwhile a Yemeni government spokesman warned from risks of Israeli terrorist acts against the Palestinian people and the Israeli policy of assassinations that affects stability in the Middle East.

In a statement, the spokesman said the latest developments in the north of Gaza strip are "a massacres and acts of genocide", expressing the concern of the Yemeni government towards these crimes that are being committed by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people.

"Such acts would not contribute in stability and peace in the region," he added.

The spokesman confirmed Yemen's support for settling the conflict according to tge U.N. resolutions, asking the Security Council to deal with these acts seriously as crimes against humanity and to take necessary measures to protect the Palestinian people.

He praised the resistance of the Palestinian people in fighting the occupation forces, calling on the Arab and Islamic countries to support Palestinians in their struggle.

The United Arab Emirates called for a decisive international stance to pressure Israel to put an end to its flagrant aggression on Gaza Strip and underlined its full solidarity with the Palestinian people.

This came in a statement issued by the Council of Ministers, following their weekly session.

The statement said, the inhuman attack being launched by the Israeli occupation forces over the last few days against civilian Palestinians in Gaza Strip, resulted in killing and wounding a large number of civilians, especially children and women as well as destruction of hundreds of houses and properties.

The Cabinet called the US to exercise highest degree of pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister, who expressed his clear disregard of all human values by waging this extensive and barbaric aggression and vowing to press on with a vast military offensive.

The Council of Ministers urged the UN Security Council, the Quartet Committee and the European Union to adopt a prompt stance capable in ending the current Israeli flagrant aggression against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza Strip, which is an obvious violation of all international and human conventions and norms.

On the other hand , Israel's deadly offensive in northern Gaza entered its second week with the government vowing to press on until Palestinian rocket fire stopped and with Palestinian chiefs pledging to intensify their attacks.

Israeli Occupation soldiers slaughtered Tuesday a 13-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, witnesses and medics said.

Witnesses said that Israeli troops, stationed at the Tal-Zo'rob neighbourhood opened fire at Eman al-Hams and wounded her with several bullets while she was going to school. They added that Eman was carrying her bag and dressed in school uniform when she was riddled by bullets.

The little girl bled to death as Israelis prevented Palestinian paramedics from evacuating her, according to witnesses and medics.

Ali Mossa, director of Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, said that Eman was shot with at least 20 bullets in the head, neck and different parts of the body. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) handed the body of Eman to the Palestinian side after keeping it for more than 2 hours.

IOF escalated its aggression against children in the last week. Islam Dwidar 14, was killed after having been shot by Israeli soldiers while she was heading to a store to buy bread in Jabalia town.

Last Monday, an Israeli sniper shot and killed a 4-year-old child in Khoza'a town, east of Khanyounis.

Worthy mentioning that 22 Palestinian children were killed by IOF during the on-going attack against the Northern Governorate of Gaza (Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun), which began last week, according to Palestinian Minister of Health. The Minister added that 77 citizens were killed, 30% of them are children, in this brutal attack.

Meanwhile the Palestinian Leadership said that the Israeli "criminal escalation" will never provide the region with peace or stability, affirming that such escalation would increase the deterioration in the situation and toss it into a long-scale war and endless violence.

During the meeting of the PLO Executive Committee (EC), headed by President Yasser Arafat and attended by representative of Palestinian organizations, in Ramallah, the leadership said that the Israeli "brutal, racial and expansionist" invasions not only endangered the fate of the Palestinian people, but also the fate the regional and world peace.

The leadership revealed it would continue exerting efforts to hold a UN Security Council's meeting to make an immediate decisive resolution to stop the Israeli massacres and to oblige Israel to abide by the Road Map plan in order to reach a political climate away from its (Israel's) "organized terror."

It also called on the Quartet, the American Administration, UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council to immediately intervene to end Israel's cruelest massacres against the Palestinian people.

The leadership held the Israeli Government responsible to the dangerous military escalation and the "terror policy" it adopts against the Palestinian, the Israeli and the entire region peoples.

It concluded its meeting by reiterating its commitment to peace as a strategy in spite of the Israeli military escalation and the killing of Palestinian children and women as well as the destruction of the holy sites and infrastructure.

President Yasser Arafat and the PLO leadership warned Wednesday against the dangers of using the US veto that torpedoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli reoccupation of the northern Gaza Strip and said it was as a cover for more Israeli massacres and crimes against the Palestinian people.

The US last Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution condemning and demanding an end to the Israeli invasion of the northern Gaza Strip, thereby giving a green light to Israel to commit more atrocities against the Palestinian people.

"Deeply regretting" the US veto, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) "warned against the dangers and ramifications of this veto, which will only perpetuate the aggression by the extreme Israeli government and will be used as a cover to commit further crimes against our people," the PLO said in a statement released by the official news agency WAFA.

Sharon's government will use the US veto "to absolve itself from all international agreements and resolutions and to evade negotiations and the peace process," the PLO said following a meeting of its Executive Committee chaired by President Arafat at his besieged headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah last Wednesday.

The draft resolution, which Arab nations endorsed last Monday, expressed "grave concern at the continued deterioration of the situation on the ground" in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and calls on Israel and the Palestinians to immediately implement the Quartet-drafted, UN-adopted "roadmap" peace plan.

US envoy to UN, John Danforth, said the draft resolution was "unbalanced."

Palestinian Minister for Negotiations Saeb Erakat said the "imbalance should be seen on the ground and not in the wording of a draft resolution presented to the Security Council."

Erakat added in a statement that Washington continues to show total alliance to Israel, adding that such a bias would contribute to the state of instability and the escalation of violence and terrorism in the Middle East.

He stressed that the Palestine National Authority (PNA) will head to the UN General Assembly and the Swiss government, the sponsor for the Fourth Geneva Convention, to convene urgent meetings to discuss the Israeli escalation and the aggression against Gaza Strip.

The PLO also called upon the Quartet of the US, the UN, the EU and Russia to "put in practice what they said about the importance of the peace process and its resumption, and to implement the (Quartet-drafted and UN-adopted) roadmap on the ground."

The Palestinian leadership further called for "forming a team of monitors to supervise an instant ceasefire."

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including a 15-year-old boy, and two Palestinian children identified as Sulaiman Abu Ful, 12, and Raed Abu Zeid, 14 in the northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabalya early Thursday.

This raises the Palestinian death toll to more than 81, in addition to 360 wounded, since the Israeli reoccupation of the Strip began nine days ago.

The emergency meeting of the Arab League delegates last Sunday decided to refer the grave Israeli aggression on the Palestinians to the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Security Council, said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

At a press conference, Moussa said that Arab states would also urge the international Quartet Committee to deal with the situation.

He said the Arab League decided to hold immediate contacts with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the European Union and African Union to intervene to stop Israel's inhuman attacks which flawed the international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Moussa said the Arab League decided also to seek urgent aid from the Arab and international Red Crescent societies due to the serious situation in the Palestinian territories.

Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa addressed messages to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan together with the Presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly in which he briefed them on the AL Council resolution on the dangerous Israeli offensive in the occupied lands and the sustained Israeli practices there.

Ambassador Ahmed Ben Helli, the assistant AL chief said that Moussa called on Annan to submit a report on the tragic sitiuation in the Palestinian territories and the hostile practices committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.

Ben Helli said Moussa made urgent contacts with the Arab foreign ministers for consultations on regional and international developments.

He also called on the Red Crescent Societies in Arab countries to provide urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people as the situation is deteriorating there.

Ben Helli said that Palestinian President telephoned Moussa to brief him on the developments in Gaza.

The United Nations has denounced the current Israeli military operations in Gaza with Secretary General Kofi Annan calling on Israel to halt attacks against the Palestinians there.

Annan called on the Palestinian National Authority to move for preventing firing rockets at the Israeli settlements.

The EU High Representative of Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana denounced the policy of collective punishment adopted by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in Gaza strip.

Solana spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, said that the Palestinians in Gaza should not be punished for the firing of mortars by a group of Palestinians on Israeli territories.

The spokeswoman quoted Solana as rejecting the excessive use of force against the Palestinians, which left a number of innocent people dead.

She added that Solana spoke on Sunday with Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath who called on Europe to support the Palestinians.

Gallach called on Israel to stop aggression against the Palestinians, which, she said, only fuels violence.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw expressed his deep concern about the escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories.

A statement by the Foreign Office said that Straw telephoned Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom earlier on Monday and told him that Israel's response to any attack by Palestinian activists should be within international legitimacy.

Straw asked Israel to exercise self-restraint, not to kill more Palestinians.

UN Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) chief Peter Hansen asked Israel to apologize for its vicious propaganda that could endanger the lives of his team members, reported the BBC.

Hansen asked, in a latter sent to Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, for an apology for Israeli allegations that Palestinian fighters used UNRWA vehicles to transport rocket launchers.

A Video backing the claim was broadcast on Israeli television showing people loading what appeared to be a rocket launcher into the back of a vehicle marked "UN".

But press reports say that the video did not show a definite picture of the object being loaded into the back of the van, and it was also unclear whether it was a genuine UN vehicle or just marked to look like one.

UNRWA and Israel have not been on good terms, as the world body has repeatedly called for Israel to cease its aggressions against Palestinian areas, including refugee camps.

An Israeli onslaught on Gaza Strip is leaving a heavy toll of casualties and heartrendering scenes of destruction.

The UN Coordinator of the Middle East peace process Terje Roed-Larsen described conditions in Gaza Strip as terrible.

Larsen, said that the United Nations tried to extend assistance to the Palestinians through international organizations.

He called on all parties to return to the negotiations table, pointing out that the negotiations were the only way to solve the conflict. There is no military solution to the problem, he said.

Larsen stressed the importance of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza as soon as possible in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and the international community.