GCC Condemns Assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned the assassination of Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine (Hamas), in the Iranian capital, Tehran, stressing that this operation is part of a series of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people. In a statement on Wednesday, the GCC Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed AlBudawi, called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and abandon policies of violence and the use of force. He noted that the assassination is a dangerous indicator of the Israeli occupation's lack of seriousness in reaching a political solution and restoring security and stability in the region, and that it clearly undermines the peace efforts being made. The statement reiterated the GCC's position on the need to stop the war in Gaza and to immediately and permanently cease fire, and to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people to achieve their national goals of establishing their indepe ndent state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders, and to provide a just solution to the refugee issue, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions. It called on the international community and influential countries to assume their responsibilities, and move immediately to provide protection for the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, and to stop the violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, and to engage seriously in the political solution to the crisis, and to allow the arrival of humanitarian aid. (QNA) Source: Qatar News Agency