Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz chaired the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers today, and condemned yesterday's air raid by Israeli warplanes that targeted a Syrian post in eastern Lebanon. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he stated, views the incident as a serious escalation harming the security and stability of the entire region, while strongly supporting every serious endeavor to realize a just and comprehensive peace. Reviewing the challenges and tensions in the Middle East and certain other parts of the Islamic world, King Fahd declared that the situation requires unifying ranks and standing steadfast in order to put an end to these sufferings. He urged all Muslim countries to seriously seek to forge fraternal ties with each other, strengthen relations that would serve the Islamic people, and work for the enhancement of their political and economic leverage. Referring to the recent tour of Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to a number of Islamic and other friendly countries, he said these visits emanate from the supportive role being played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to present and discuss Islamic causes in order to mobilize support, and with the aim of reaching appropriate solutions on one hand, and, on the other, enriching bilateral relations with those countries.

The cabinet then reviewed efforts for Middle East peace that are currently being exerted by the international community, and in particular the United States, which has sent its Secretary of State and peace envoys to the region. International effort requires serious and sincere acts to render it into programmed steps to force Israel to halt its settlement projects and its aggressive practices against the Palestinian people, and to implement what has been agreed upon with Arab parties and what has been resolved by the United Nations, based on the principle of land for peace.
Turning to domestic issues, the cabinet authorized the Minister of Education or his deputy to sign a draft agreement on environmental cooperation with the United States administration for oceans and the atmosphere; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs or his deputy to discuss with the Republic of Austria a draft agreement to replace the existing one on economic and technical cooperation.

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