Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz today chaired the regular weekly session of the Council of Ministers, and briefed the cabinet on consultations on international and Arab developments, that he and Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz had held with a number of world leaders, including visiting Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafiq Al-Hariri. On the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the suffering arising from Israel's continued aggression that targets innocent unarmed people, the cabinet stressed the need to take a serious and firm international stance confronting Israeli aggression, activating peace efforts in the region, and putting pressure on Israel to comply with agreements. Israel, the cabinet noted, continually works to undermine any international effort to move the peace process forward, as is the case with its current actions aimed at foiling the 'roadmap'.

King Fahd then praised the continued success of security forces in their fight to eradicate terrorism and track down terrorists and their supporters, who have threatened the safety of citizens even in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah; and expressed appreciation of citizens' cooperation in protecting the Kingdom's stability.
Turning to domestic issues, the cabinet passed a number of resolutions, including authorization for the Secretary General of the Higher Commission for Tourism or his deputy to sign a draft agreement on tourism cooperation with the Republic of Yemen; authorization for the head of Civil Aviation or his deputy to sign a draft agreement on cooperation in the field of air transportation services with the Republic of Gambia; and authorization for the Minister of Interior or his deputy to hold talks on concluding a draft agreement on extradition procedures with the Republic of Lebanon. The cabinet also, on a recommendation from the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to review current gasoline prices for consumers, resolved to fix the pump price of a liter of 95 octane at SR 1.02 (27.2 cents), up from SR 0.9 (24 cents), effective December 31, 2006.

Return