saudi calls for arab solidarity against israel

I wonder if this just posturing for the benefit of their people, or is Saudi Arabia going to turn on the US?
This is the strongest statement I have heard them make.

From www.arabnews.com

Kingdom Urges Unified Stance on Lebanon
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 8 August 2006 — Saudi Arabia declared yesterday that it would stand by the people of Lebanon and Palestine in confronting the total war launched by Israel against the two countries. It also called for a strong and united Arab stance against Israeli aggression.

In its weekly meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the Cabinet hoped that the Arab foreign ministers’ conference, held yesterday in Beirut, would bring about an effective Arab response to the massive Israeli military onslaughts.

The Kingdom voiced its hope that the conference “would support Lebanese national unity and legitimacy as well as the decisions taken by Lebanon and Palestine, thus adopting a unified Arab stance on the crisis,” the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting a statement issued by the Council of Ministers.

The Cabinet expressed its deep concern over the failure of global efforts to achieve a cease-fire as Israel continued its military campaign killing hundreds of civilians and destroying homes and infrastructure.

Earlier, King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve a quick cease-fire.

Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Cabinet commended the king’s decision offering a 15 percent increase in monthly stipends to Saudi students who go abroad for higher studies. The king had also taken the initiative to solve the problem faced by students abroad as a result of exchange rate fluctuations of the Saudi riyal against other currencies.

The move came after the government decided to provide scholarships to a large number of Saudi students to pursue higher studies in medicine, computer science, information technology and engineering in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, South Korea and other countries.

Speaking about other decisions taken by the Cabinet, Madani said it approved the memorandum of understanding signed with Yemen on Dec. 12, 2004 on the management of hazardous waste. According to the agreement, the two sides will exchange information on transportation and export of such waste across their borders.

The Cabinet also approved the GCC summit decision to extend the interim period of GCC Customs Union to the end of 2007 and add some goods to the list of 52 tariff-free goods. The decision, which was taken last year, also insisted that GCC member states enter into joint negotiations for bilateral agreements with others countries and groups.

The Cabinet also endorsed the GCC law on fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals. According to the law, member countries will not let in such imports without certificates proving that they are free of dangerous substances.

The Cabinet meeting reviewed the progress of work on 860 health projects being implemented across the Kingdom using financial allocations from budget surpluses of the past two years. Madani said the Riyadh region had got the largest number of such projects (138), followed by Makkah (131), Asir (99), Eastern Province (90), Qassim (59) and Madinah (58).

King Abdullah urged authorities to complete the projects as quickly as possible. The Cabinet approved the appointment of Osama ibn Ahmed Naqli and Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Sudais as ministers plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry.


GZ