The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh today. The session began with a number of reports on regional and international events, which were reviewed by the ministers. The Cabinet discussed Arab efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria, commending the continuing efforts of the Arab League (AL) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to end the bloodshed.

In the wake of the recent spate of attacks and threats against various embassies, the Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s absolute condemnation of violence against diplomatic missions, without exception. It stressed the importance of adhering to the international agreements that guarantee the inviolability of foreign missions and the safety of their employees.

The Cabinet also condemned the illegal practices carried out by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the recent approval of the construction of 650 new settlement units and a road to link the settlement with occupied Al-Quds [Jerusalem] in order to isolate the holy city from its Palestinian surroundings and change its demographic nature. On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the ministers called upon the international community to take a united stand in favor of Palestinian rights and to firmly pressure Israel to abandon the logic of force, opt for the choice of peace, and recognize the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state with Al-Quds as its capital.

On the domestic front, the Cabinet welcomed the release of the first edition of the Encyclopedia of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Arabic, a project that took the King Abdulaziz Public Library ten years to complete. The Encyclopedia offers comprehensive, scientific knowledge documented with photos, maps and statistical data on all details of life in the Kingdom, both past and present.

Finally, the Cabinet noted the convening of a conference entitled “The Gulf and the World,” organized in Riyadh by the Diplomatic Studies Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Gulf Research Center in Dubai and with the participation of officials and specialists from around the world.

The Cabinet then discussed its remaining agenda items and approved the appointments of Othman Al-Zoman as Director General of Administration and Finance at the General Directorate of Prisons (14th rank) and Mohammed Al-Otaibi as Planning and Human Resources Development Adviser at the Ministry of Labor (14th rank).