Saudi Gazette

Dhahran — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman reiterated that the Palestinian cause will remain the core Arab issue until the brotherly Palestinian people get all their legitimate rights, foremost of which was the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King was addressing the 29th session of the Arab Summit at King Abdulaziz International Cultural Center, an architectural masterpiece, in Dhahran on Sunday.

In his opening speech, King Salman also rejected the US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

“We reiterate our rejection of the US administration’s decision on Jerusalem,” the King said, adding, “We commend the international consensus that rejects it. We emphasize that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian land.”

King Salman slammed Iran’s “blatant interference” in regional affairs.

“We renew our strong condemnation of Iran’s terrorist acts in the Arab region and reject its blatant interference in the affairs of Arab countries,” the King said, adding, “We welcome the statement by the Security Council which strongly condemned the launching of Iranian-made ballistic missiles by the Houthi terrorist militias toward Saudi cities.”

King Salman vowed full support to all efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the crisis in Yemen in accordance with the GCC Initiative as well as the decisions of the comprehensive national dialogue conference and the Security Council Resolution 2216.

While calling upon the international community to work towards facilitating delivery of humanitarian assistance in all regions of Yemen, the King said, “We hold the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militias fully responsible for the emergence and continuation of the Yemeni crisis and the human suffering that has afflicted Yemen.”

The King said that the most dangerous of what the world is facing today is the challenge of terrorism, which has allied itself with extremism and sectarianism to produce internal conflicts infused by many Arab countries.

“We have presented to you an initiative to deal with the challenges faced by the Arab countries under the title (Strengthening Arab national security to face common challenges), stressing the importance of the development of the Arab League and its system.

We welcome the consensus on the establishment of the Arab Cultural Summit, hoping to contribute to the advancement of Arab-Islamic culture,” the King said.

Earlier, Jordan’s King Abdullah, the chairman of the previous Arab Summit, delivered a speech in which he thanked King Salman for the warm reception and generous hospitality.

Then King Salman assumed the presidency of the 29th ordinary session of the Arab Summit.