Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The Council of Ministers on Tuesday emphasized that the continuing hostilities and terrorist operations by Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militias against Saudi Arabia amount to war crimes and a real threat to regional and international security.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman chaired the weekly session of the Cabinet at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

Minister of Media Turki Al-Shabanah said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet affirmed the legitimate right of the Command of the Coalition forces to support legitimacy in Yemen to take and implement procedures and measures to deal with these hostile and terrorist actions and immoral transgressions in accordance with the international humanitarian laws.

The Cabinet termed Houthi militias’ firing of ballistic missiles and drones to target civilians and civilian facilities in the Kingdom and violating international humanitarian law by taking civilians in residential areas as human shields as well as launching of remote-controlled booby-trapped boats as war crimes.

Al-Shabanah said the Cabinet offered its condolences to the family of the Syrian national who was killed in Sunday’s terrorist attack on Abha International Airport in which 21 civilians of different nationalities were injured. The Cabinet wished the injured speedy recovery.

The Cabinet welcomed the statement of the Quartet — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States — expressing concern over the escalating tension in the region, the threat being posed by the Iranian acts of undermining peace and security in Yemen and the region as a whole, as well as the tension created by Houthi militia attacks on the Kingdom.

The Cabinet commended the statement of the emergency meeting of Arab finance ministers and its commitment to abide by the Arab League decisions to activate a financial safety network to support the budget of the Palestinian Authority with $100 million per month in accordance with member states’ quotas in the budget of the General Secretariat, and its condemnation of Israel’s usurping of the Palestinian people’s money.

The Cabinet described the selection of Saudi Arabia as the first Arab country to be a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during its general assembly in US as the outcome of the Kingdom’s efforts in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, and draining of its sources. “The selection also came as a result of the Kingdom’s strong and effective financial procedures for a stable, transparent and reliable financial environment,” it said.

The Cabinet authorized chairman of the board of General Entertainment Authority (GEA) to discuss and sign memoranda of cooperation in the field of entertainment with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center in Kuwait and the Culture and Tourism Authority of Bahrain.