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Gulf and Arab Leaders Condemn Terror Wave in Saudi Arabia | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Muslim worshipers gather at the Prophet’s Mosque on Jun 10, 2016 in the Saudi holy city of Medina. (AFP/Bandar Asdandani)‬


Jeddah – London: Gulf and Arab States strongly condemned terrorist attacks that rocked Saudi Arabia on Monday, pledging to unify efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received a telephone call from Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who expressed his deepest sympathies to the king and people of Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait also condemned the three explosions in the Kingdom. Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah condemned the terror attacks against the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and a mosque in the eastern Saudi province of Qatif. He reiterated Kuwait’s firm rejection to all forms of terrorism and expressed full support for international efforts to address terrorism financing.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz received telephone calls from Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Khalifa and Bahrain’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, who reiterated Bahrain’s supportive stance toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their full support for all measures to deter those trying to undermine the Kingdom’s security and sowing division and discord among its community.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a telephone call from Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, who strongly condemned the terrorist incidents in Saudi Arabia.

Sharif said his country stands with the Kingdom in the war against terrorism.
The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the despicable terrorist attacks which hit the cities of Jeddah, Qatif and the Prophet’s Mosque in the city of Medina, the Emirati ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on its website.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, U.A.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said: “We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in their fight against the crimes of terrorism whose goals are to spread fear, takfir and incite strife”.

He reiterated that the U.A.E. “stands in full solidarity with the leaders and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and fully backs any measures they take to eliminate the danger of terrorism which aims to undermine the security and stability of the Kingdom, and which does not respect the sanctity of this month, the Prophet’s Mosque and other places of worship that it targets.”

Sheikh Abdullah stressed that the stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the main pillar of the stability of the United Arab Emirates and the whole of the Gulf Arab region.

“Based on this fact, we believe that these crimes target the United Arab Emirates, its cities and people. We are fully confident that the Saudi leadership will be able to eliminate the threat posed by terrorism and all its forms and manifestations, and that this deviant group of people will not succeed in achieving its goals, thanks to national solidarity and cohesion which recognizes the futility of their goals, blood-thirsty crimes as well as the deviance of their claims,” the statement said.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed its condemnation to “those criminal acts that contradicts all humanitarian, moral and Islamic values.”

In a statement on Monday, the ministry expressed “Qatar’s support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the latter faces these crimes committed against innocent people.” The statement also stressed the “Kingdom’s leading role in the region, particularly in counter-terrorism.”

The Ministry conveyed Qatar’s condolences to the people of Saudi Arabia and the families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery, the statement added.

Bahrain strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia. The Bahrain News Agency reported that Bahrain “highly valued the huge Saudi effort led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to maintain security and stability of Arab and Islamic nations, and its contribution to addressing challenges faced by the international community for attaining a more secured future.” It also called for concerted regional and international efforts to eradicate terrorism in all its forms.

The Sultanate of Oman expressed its strong condemnation to the wave of terror that hit Saudi Arabia at the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan. A foreign affairs ministry’s spokesperson said that terrorism had no religion and no goal but to kill innocent lives.

For its part, Egypt expressed its full support to Saudi Arabia in facing terrorism. In a statement, the foreign affairs ministry’s spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zayd, stressed the need to unify international efforts to fight terrorism.

Resigned Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi condemned the terrorist acts, saying that those were aimed at stirring sectarian strife in the Kingdom. He also hailed the Kingdom’s leading role in combating terrorism.

U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Joseph Westphal condemned the attacks in Jeddah, Qatif and Medina.

In a statement published on the embassy’s website, Westphal said: “As the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close, Muslims from the United States to Saudi Arabia and beyond should now be celebrating the advent of Eid Al Fitr. Instead many of us will be grieving, in particular the families of the Saudi security forces personnel and others who were hurt or killed in the senseless attacks in Jeddah, Qatif, and Medina today. I condemn, and all decent people condemn, these attacks.

All of us deserve the right to worship in peace, and those who would transform this holy time into an occasion for hatred and bloodshed deserve our strongest condemnation.”

The Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Abul Ghait vehemently condemned the wave of terror in Saudi Arabia. In a statement, Abul Ghait conveyed his condolences and sympathies to the people of the Kingdom, adding that the perpetrators of these crimes show complete disregard for the sacredness of the Holy Month of Ramadan.