Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders called Monday for an urgent meeting of the Joint Defence Council to be preceded by a session of the Military Committee to assess the situation following Israel’s aggression against Qatar.
During an extraordinary GCC summit in the Qatari capital Doha, held on the sidelines of an emergency Arab-Islamic summit, they stressed that “the continuation of these aggressive policies undermines efforts to achieve peace and the future of existing understandings and agreements with Israel, due to the serious repercussions this carries for the stability of the entire region.”
This came in the final statement of the extraordinary session of the GCC Supreme Council on the Israeli attack against Qatar held in Doha in parallel with the Arab-Islamic summit.
The statement said the GCC Supreme Council held an extraordinary session in Doha, chaired by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with the participation of GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi.
According to the statement, participants at the extraordinary summit included United Arab Emirates Vice President Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the personal representative of the King of Bahrain; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs Shihab bin Tariq Al Said; and Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
‘Flagrant assault’
The statement described Israel’s attack on Qatar as “a flagrant assault on the efforts of the international community and its organisations aimed at achieving a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages and detainees” and “a blatant violation of international law.”
The final statement “condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli aggression and the flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, affirming that this act of aggression represents a dangerous and unacceptable escalation and a grave breach of the principles of international law and the UN Charter.”
It stressed that “the security of the GCC states is indivisible and that any attack on one of them is an attack on all, in accordance with the Basic Statute of the GCC and the Joint Defense Agreement, and the readiness of the member states to harness all capabilities to support the sisterly State of Qatar and protect its security, stability and sovereignty against any threats.”
According to the statement, the leaders instructed the GCC Joint Defence Council to convene an urgent meeting in Doha, preceded by a session of the Higher Military Committee.
It explained that the Joint Defence Council meeting aims to “assess the defence posture of the member states and the sources of threat in light of the Israeli aggression against the sisterly State of Qatar and to direct the Unified Military Command to take the necessary executive measures to activate joint defence mechanisms and Gulf deterrence capabilities.”
Moral, legal responsibilities
The Supreme Council affirmed that “the brutal Israeli attack on Qatar constitutes a direct threat to collective Gulf security and to regional peace and stability.”
It added that “the continuation of these aggressive policies undermines efforts to achieve peace and the future of existing understandings and agreements with Israel, with dangerous repercussions for the stability of the entire region.”
The statement stressed “the necessity for the international community to fulfil its moral and legal responsibilities and to act urgently to deter Israel and put an end to its repeated violations of international law and international humanitarian law, which constitute a direct threat to the security of the region and to international peace and stability.”
The strike in Qatar's capital targeted leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas, who were discussing a US ceasefire proposal, killing five of its members and a Qatari security officer. The attack drew global condemnation, with US President Donald Trump saying he was "very unhappy" about the air strikes.
