Saudi Gazette report

Riyadh — The Council of Ministers chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Tuesday expressed the Kingdom’s deep concern and strong condemnation at the horrific chemical attack on Douma city in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta.

The Cabinet called for the need to put an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and urged the international community to assume its responsibility to protect civilians in Syria and pursue a peaceful solution based on the principles of Geneva Declaration 1 and Security Council resolution 2254.

The chemical weapons attack late on Saturday killed at least 60 people, with more than 1,000 injured at several sites in Douma, a city near the capital, Damascus, according to a Syrian aid organization.

Minister of State, Cabinet member and acting Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Issam Saeed said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet also condemned the Israeli violations and attacks on Palestinians in Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories.

It reiterated the Kingdom’s firm stand on the Palestinian cause and support for Palestinian people’s right to obtain all their legal rights, especially the establishment of their independent state with East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as its capital in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative adopted in Beirut in 2002.

The Cabinet commended the 3rd Nazaha International Conference organized by National Anti-Corruption Commission entitled “Protecting Integrity and Combating Corruption in Privatization Programs” which was in line with the decisive phase in combating corruption.

The Cabinet stressed the message addressed by the Kingdom’s permanent mission to the United Nations calling for the condemnation of the Iranian Houthi attack on a Saudi oil tanker in international waters west of Hodaidah seaport in Yemen, the need to hold Houthi militias and their Iranian sponsors accountable for their crimes in violation of international law, taking necessary measures to ensure the speedy and comprehensive implementation of Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2231, and the importance of placing Hodaidah seaport under the international supervision to prevent weapons smuggling to Houthi militias that threaten maritime traffic in Strait of Bab Al-Mandeb and the Red Sea.