JEDDAH, 17 June 2003 — GCC foreign ministers yesterday urged the Israeli government to stop its aggressive practices including assassination of Palestinian leaders and destruction of Palestinian properties.
“These practices will destroy the Middle East road map,” the ministers said and called upon Israel to implement the new peace plan without delay.
The GCC meeting voiced its full support to the measures taken by Saudi Arabia to root out terrorism and reinforce security and stability in the country.
In a statement after the one-day meeting, the ministers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council also called for an international conference on terrorism.
The six states decided to intensify contacts and cooperation between their security, information and education agencies to protect the Gulf society from the influence of alien and deviant thoughts.
Referring to the situation in Iraq, the GCC ministers called for joint international efforts to tackle the present situation in Iraq and bring life back into normal.
The meeting urged the occupation authority in Iraq and the United Nations to intensify their search for the prisoners of war from Kuwait and other states in the country.
The GCC ministers insisted that the United Nations must be given a pivotal role in Iraq. They emphasized that the restoration of security and stability in the war-ravaged country was the responsibility of the occupation forces as per Geneva Conventions.
