RIYADH: Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held an emergency summit here last night and discussed ways and means to stop Israel’s war on Gaza that has so far claimed close to 1,100 lives.
The leaders endorsed a broader agreement that calls for renewed efforts to halt the genocide and open corridors for relief supplies in the war-battered Gaza Strip.
The summit, which was called by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, urged the international community to stop the Israeli attack.
The GCC leaders went into a closed-door session soon after their arrival at the Dirriyah Palace in the Saudi capital. The summit coincided with an emergency session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The extraordinary GCC summit was attended by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Fahd bin Mahmoud Al-Saeed, deputy premier of Oman. A number of GCC ministers, members of the royal families and other high-ranking Gulf officials attended the summit.
Sheikh Khalifa said his country was committed to bolstering efforts through concerted Arab action.
“The aim is to fortify the security and stability of the region and to face the challenges through joint vision that will safeguard the unity of Arab ranks and ensure the clarity of our stand,” he told reporters before the summit. “The Emirati participation in the summit was in full belief in the collective action and unification of the Arab rank and file,” he added.
He said the UAE is awaiting the Arab Economic, Development and Social Summit in Kuwait, which will lead to a decisive Arab response.
A GCC General Secretariat spokesman confirmed that the summit’s main aim was to arrive at a unified response to the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. “The GCC leaders devoted much of their time to find out how to respond to the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza,” the spokesman said.
