His Excellency Mr. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), condemned Israel's assassination of Dr Ismail Haniyeh, Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). His Excellency expressed his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the family of Dr Ismail Haniyeh, asking Allah the Almighty to bestow His mercy upon him and inspire them with patience and solace.
Moreover, His Excellency called on all parties to exercise maximum self-restraint and abandon policies of violence and use of force, stressing that this operation is part of a series of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, and is a serious indicator of their lack of seriousness in reaching a political solution as well as restoring security and stability in the region, as well as a clear undermining of the ongoing peace efforts.
Furthermore, His Excellency affirmed the position of the Cooperation Council on the need to stop the war in Gaza and an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in achieving their national goals of establishing their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, within the 1967 borders, as well as providing a just solution to the refugee issue, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
He called on the international community and the active states to assume their responsibilities, move immediately to provide protection for the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, stop the violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the brotherly Palestinian people, engage seriously in the political solution to the crisis, and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.