The Council of Ministers meeting, chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Monday approved the restructuring of the Civil Defense Council to protect lives and possessions in the Kingdom during times of disasters and other crises. The Civil Defense Council will be headed by Crown Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, and will include two high-level representatives from government agencies. The Cabinet agreed that the new body will oversee all other government bodies involved in tasks related to civil defense. The Civil Defense Council is tasked with drawing up all safety regulations concerning the protection of lives and possessions. The Cabinet also tasked the council with constructing public bunkers. The new organizational structure sees the preliminary committee of the Civil Defense Council replaced with a committee named the General Committee for Civil Defense Work under the chairmanship of the Assistant Minister for Security Affairs and two members representing the concerned government agencies. The General Committee for Civil Defense Work is tasked with restructuring the General Secretariat of the Civil Defense. The Civil Defense Council will have a General Secretary whose rank should not be below Grade 15 or its equivalent. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the meeting, Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet lauded the decisions of the 137th session of the Arab League's Council and the final resolution adopted to tackle the Syrian crisis. He said the Cabinet re-affirmed its commitment to end the bloodshed and help the Syrian people. The Cabinet also slammed the Israeli government's attacks on the Gaza Strip which has seen 20 people die and many injured. The Council of Ministers urged the international community to “take a firm stand to deter Israel from continuing its atrocities and massacres against the Palestinian people and also deter it from its continued violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian lands which constitutes a flagrant [violation of] all international charters and norms”.
