Gulf Arab interior ministers on Tuesday warned of the security risk fall-out for the region from the Middle East crisis, triggered by almost four weeks of deadly Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
"Peace in the Middle East is going through dangerous times," Bahraini Interior Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Khalifa told his counterparts in the six-nation (Gulf Cooperation Council) at a meeting in the Saudi capital.
"Events on the Arab scene have created a new situation to which we must put forward a security strategy that needs joint cooperation," Sheikh Mohammed said.
The Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, said the meeting was taking place "against the background of security challenges posed by developments in the region."
He was referring to the Israeli-Palestinian clashes, which have cost more than 130 lives, all but eight of them Arabs. The outburst of violence has virtually wiped the Middle East peace process off the regional agenda.
US forces in Bahrain, home of the US Fifth Fleet, and Qatar have been put on the highest state of alert as a result of intelligence pointing to the possibility of imminent attack, a US defense official in Washington said Tuesday.
He told AFP that at least some of the threats had been linked to Osama bin Laden, the alleged Islamist terrorist mastermind who is on the US most wanted criminals’ list.
Seventeen US sailors were killed and 38 wounded in a bomb attack on the US Navy destroyer Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden on October 12 – RIYADH (AFP)
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