Rhino: Agencies – The Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister stressed that the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh is a blatant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and poses a threat to regional peace and security.

In a statement published by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on Wednesday following the extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Walid bin Abdul Karim al-Khuraiji said: “The Kingdom’s government senses the gravity of the escalating events in the Palestinian territories due to the Israeli occupation’s blatant aggressions and illegal practices against the Palestinian people inside and outside the Palestinian territories, ignoring international conventions and resolutions.”

“The assassination of former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh during his visit to Tehran last week is a flagrant violation of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and a threat to regional peace and security,” he added.

He said that the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, based on its firm positions towards the Palestinian cause, condemns the Israeli occupation forces’ attacks on civilians and rejects any attack on the sovereignty of countries or interference in the internal affairs of any country, in accordance with international conventions and the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He expressed the Kingdom’s deep concern over the escalation of the Israeli army’s violations, which have resulted in large numbers of deaths and injuries among civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the shortage of food, medicine and fuel, and the exhaustion of all health sectors under the weight of the increasing number of patients, as well as displaced civilians seeking shelter.