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Gulf Cooperation Council Calls for Definition of Terrorism
MANAMA, Oct 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called Monday on the international community to push for a definition of terrorism which does not equate it with the Palestinian people's legitimate right to resist Israeli occupation.
"We call for a definition of the idea of terrorism, to facilitate the fight against this phenomenon, achieve cooperation between the members of the international community and face it by resisting against those who support it," Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdelaziz said.
He made his remarks during the opening of the GCC meeting in Manama. The Saudi prince added that, "it would be wise to identify the causes and the means of fighting against terrorism."
The meeting comes little more than a month after the deadly attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Bush administration says Saudi-exile Osama bin Laden is the prime suspect behind the attacks, which claimed an estimated 6,000.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has come under heavy criticism from the Western media for allegedly not doing enough to support Washington's "war on terrorism," specifically the U-S-led military campaign against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia and bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.
For his part, GCC Secretary General Jamil al-Hujailan said it was impossible to tackle the issue of terrorism without knowing the real causes which lead terrorists to commit such violent acts.
"Naturally, we do not justify acts of terrorism, but we want to protect society from the exploitation of the simple-minded," he added.
He reiterated the widespread Arab view following the September 11 attacks against the United States that terrorism should not be equated with the "struggle against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories."
The Gulf Arab interior ministers were due to examine security developments in the Gulf and the world, and their impact on the oil-rich alliance which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Although many of the GCC members have given formal support to the U.S. military coalition, many Arab and Muslim nations have been reluctant to back the campaign while Washington's ally, Israel, continues armed incursions against Palestinian-ruled areas in the West Bank.
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