Tribune News Network
Doha
In light of the military escalation and developments in the Middle East, the Ministerial Council of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf held its 45th extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, in Doha.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of the current session of the Ministerial Council.
The Ministerial Council reviewed the dangerous developments and the increasing escalation that destabilises the security and stability of the region, including in the sisterly Republic of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the serious violations in the West Bank, the threat to Al-Aqsa Mosque and religious sanctities, and tensions between Israel and Iran.
The Ministerial Council condemned the escalation in the Lebanese and Palestinian territories, and warned of the dangerous repercussions, the effects of which are not limited to this region alone, but extend to a wider circle, and the resulting threat to international peace and security, and the undermining of peace and security efforts in the region and the world. It stressed the need to protect the security of the region and prevent the expansion of the scope of the war.
The Council called on all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint, refrain from violence and give priority to the language of dialogue.
The Ministerial Council also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to maintain security and stability in the region and implement international legitimacy resolutions related to the region.
Regarding Lebanon, the Ministerial Council affirmed the GCC’s support for the brotherly Lebanese people, with all its components, at this critical stage, and called for intensifying international and regional efforts to provide urgent humanitarian support to Lebanon to alleviate the suffering of civilians and protect them from any serious repercussions. It also called for restraint, avoiding involvement in regional conflicts, and preventing the expansion of the conflict in the region.
The Council stressed the need to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, relevant international resolutions, and the Taif Agreement, to restore permanent security and stability in Lebanon, and ensure respect for its territorial integrity, political independence, and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders.
The Ministerial Council affirmed the contents of the joint ministerial statement issued on September 25, 2024, by the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the United States of America, and a number of other countries, calling for an immediate ceasefire for 21 days, across the Blue Line separating the southern borders of Lebanon, and proceeding with a diplomatic settlement that spares the region the risk of a regional war.
The Ministerial Council welcomed the statement issued on September 27, 2024, in New York City, by the emergency ministerial meeting of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the escalation of Israeli military attacks against the State of Palestine and the Lebanese Republic.
With regard to Palestine, the Ministerial Council affirmed the GCC’s support for the brotherly Palestinian people, stressing its condemnation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the West Bank, and calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ending the siege imposed on the Strip, and releasing hostages and detainees, stressing the importance of opening all crossings immediately and without conditions, and ensuring the safe delivery of all relief and humanitarian aid, medical supplies and basic needs to the residents of the Gaza Strip, within the framework of commitment to international law and international humanitarian law.
The Ministerial Council concluded its meeting by reiterating the warning against the increasing escalation in the region and its serious repercussions on regional and international peace and security, calling once again for the importance of reducing escalation and exercising the utmost restraint and sparing the region and the world further instability and the dangers of wars and destruction and their effects on the peoples of the region and the world.