Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, attends the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jeddah on Monday. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia on Monday backed resolutions adopted by a key Arab League meeting in Cairo emphasizing the need to take quick measures to crush the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist organizations that operate in the region, undermining its security and stability.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, also called for joint efforts to dry up the intellectual and financial sources of terrorist groups.

The Cabinet denounced Israel’s confiscation of 400 hectares of Palestinian land to establish a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank. “This is a flagrant violation of international resolutions and an aggression on the Palestinian people, their lands and holy places,” the Cabinet said, urging the international community to take a firm stance against the Zionist entity.

The Cabinet commended Saudi security forces for arresting 88 militants who have links with terrorist groups abroad.

It highlighted the threat posed by Al-Qaeda and urged citizens and residents to cooperate with security forces to track down such terrorists.

Earlier, the Cabinet was briefed on the outcome of talks between Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, in addition to the king’s telephone conversation with Chadian President Idriss Deby. The Cabinet praised the king for launching the first phase of the border project.

King Abdullah and Prince Salman thanked French President Francois Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and other French leaders for the hospitality they accorded the crown prince and his delegation when he visited Paris last week as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in all sectors.

Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet commended the joint communiqué issued at the conclusion of Prince Salman’s visit to France, which reflected close cooperation between the Kingdom and France and their desire to expand ties in the political, security, economic, financial, commercial, industrial, educational and cultural fields.

Khoja said the Cabinet approved the air transport agreement with the US, which was signed on May 27, 2013 in Jeddah. Each of the two parties shall give each other the right to fly over mutual territory without landing, the right to stop in each other’s territory for non-traffic purposes and the right of transport.

Both parties shall submit to each other (on demand) assistance to prevent the unlawful acts of hijacking airplanes and prevent any other illegal acts that endanger safety of airplanes, passengers and their crews, as well as airports and air navigation facilities.

The Cabinet authorized the foreign minister to discuss signing a cooperation agreement with the Peruvian side.

It assigned the president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) to discuss with the Italian side a draft agreement for cooperation in the field of archaeology, museums and built heritage.

The Cabinet endorsed a decision taken by GCC leaders during their summit in Bahrain on the adoption of the criteria for the development of service facilities on the highways in the member states.

 
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