Saudi Arabia said on Monday the international stand that Israel's barbaric attacks on Gaza are in self-defense is weak, muted, unprecedented and blind to the history of the occupation, to Israel's terrorizing of the Palestinians, to the huge power imbalance between the two sides, and to Israel's disregard for the Arab peace initiative. The Council of Ministers chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said Israel's ruthless war of collective punishment of innocent men, women and children in the Gaza Strip and its destruction of mosques, residential units, farms and every pillar of Gaza's economy, violate all human principles, rules of war, and the most basic principles of international conventions. Iyad Amin Madani, Minister of Culture and Information, cited the Council as saying that Israel's policy of war, violence and genocide in Gaza and all Palestinian lands is nothing but implementation of extremist ideologies from within Israael and outside, which aim to reshape the Middle East according to their vision and terms. The Council called upon the Palestinian factions to put aside their differences and unite so as to avoid the growing danger posed by their split. The Council said the Palestinian leaderships have a special responsibility under these circumstances, since there can be no room for effective, united Arab-Islamic action unless the Palestinians unite. The Council stressed that Saudi Arabia's stand since the time of King Abdul Aziz, of giving the Palestinians every support at both official and public levels, remains consistent. “The Kingdom will be in the forefront of any joint Arab-Islamic work that can effectively deal with this serious crisis, instead of just meeting and issuing statements after statements,” Madani cited the Council as saying.
