Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz today chaired the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers, and voiced his thanks and appreciation for all the sentiments and prayers of solidarity received following last Wednesday’s act of terrorism that targeted the General Directorate of Traffic in Riyadh, and resulted not only in devastating damage to buildings and other property, but in violation of the sanctity of Muslim lives, passers-by and neighbors as well as security officers. Praying to God Almighty to bless the souls of those who died, King Fahd gave supplication that their families be condoled, that the injured have a speedy recovery, and that the evil perpetrators be ensnared in their evil deeds. This criminal act, he declared, was carried out by a deviant and blasphemous group under the firm grip of Evil; people who seek, under a false pretense of religion, to destabilize order, jeopardize peace, wrench out the lives of the innocent, and wreak havoc in the country. He added that in standing against these deviant and criminal terrorists, the country’s security officers are manning a Muslim outpost in defense of their religion and their land; their perseverance will not waver in face of criminal acts like these.

The Cabinet affirmed that such criminal and deviant acts will have no effect on the strong unity that ties the people to their leadership, and will only add to this unity greater strength and solidarity in fighting terrorism, whatever its forms and methods might be. The Cabinet further emphasized how important it is for individuals to report such criminals, asserting that whoever shelters or hides a criminal is an accomplice in his crime, as is cited in the Prophet’s statement that God Almighty "loathes whoever harbors a blasphemer".
King Fahd then briefed the Cabinet on talks that he and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz had with Kuwait's Premier Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and a number of other leaders and senior officials of friendly countries, focusing on the latest international developments, notably the situation in Iraq, and in the occupied Palestinian territories, where Israel continues its aggression on the Palestinian people, and maintains its arrogance, which made it shamelessly announce its intention to assassinate Palestine's President Yasser Arafat. This move of Israel’s is unprecedented in international relations, and contrary to the simplest tenets of human rights. The Cabinet stressed the need for a firm international stance against Israel in order to put an end to its attempts to wipe out the Palestinian people.
Turning to domestic issues, the Cabinet passed a number of resolutions, including amendment of regulations on granting residential plots of land to the deserving to include orphans under the age of 18; and approval of the new system for pharmaceutical facilities, to go into effect within 120 days.

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