“This Israeli practice cuts the way totally to all peace initiatives as it (Jewish settlements) besieges most West Bank cities, making it difficult to establish a Palestinian state,” the Cabinet said in a statement after the regular weekly session.

Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, who chaired the meeting, congratulated the Saudis on the safe arrival of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Morocco to continue his convalescence. He wished the king quick recovery to come back to the Kingdom in good health. King Abdullah underwent a successful back surgery at a US hospital in November 2010.

Prince Sultan thanked Morocco’s King Muhammad VI and the country’s government and people for the warm welcome they accorded to King Abdullah.

During the past week, King Abdullah received calls from Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The Cabinet lauded the resolutions taken at the recent Arab Economic Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and welcomed Arab leaders for their next economic summit in Riyadh in January 2013. It also denounced the terrorist bombings in Iraq in the past week.

Referring to the fifth Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh, the Cabinet said the economic reforms adopted by the Kingdom in the past contributed to improving its investment climate. “It also enabled Saudi Arabia to achieve top positions in international reports relating to investment,” the Cabinet statement said.

The Cabinet approved an agreement with Sudan for the transfer of sentenced persons as well as another accord with Turkey for scientific and educational cooperation. It endorsed another agreement between the Saudi Press Agency and the Press Trust of India.

The Cabinet reshuffled the board of directors of the Saudi Capital Market Company (Tadawul) with Mansour Al-Maiman (from the Finance Ministry), Abdullah Al-Hamoudi (Ministry of Commerce and Industry), Abdul Rahman Al-Humaidi (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency), Bashir Bakhit, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Taha Al-Quwaiz and Abdul Rahman Al-Yahya (brokers’ representatives), and Saud Al-Dowaish and Sami Baroom (representatives of companies listed on the Saudi bourse) as new members.

The Cabinet appointed Ahmed bin Habib Salah deputy minister of economy and planning for economic affairs, Abdul Ghani bin Abdul Khaliq Al-Ghamdi ambassador, Abdullatif bin Hussein Salam, minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry, and Abdul Rahman bin Fowzan Al-Belaihed, security adviser at the Interior Ministry.