Saudi King Salman chairs cabinet session after recovery from illness


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Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz has recovered from a recent bout of illness, and chaired a virtual cabinet session on Tuesday from Jeddah where he expressed gratitude for those who sent him well wishes, the Saudi state news agency (Spa) reported.

“At the beginning of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques thanked his sons and daughters, the people of the kingdom, for their generous feelings and kind prayers,” Spa said.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other members of the cabinet also said they were thankful for the King's recovery.

Last week, Saudi Arabia's royal court said King Salman had medical examinations after suffering from fever, joint pain and a lung infection. After the tests that were carried out at the Royal Clinics at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah, the King was prescribed a treatment consisting of antibiotics to fight the infection.

King Salman, 88, has been on the throne since 2015.

A number of Arab and regional issues were discussed, including the situation in Palestine, during Tuesday's cabinet meeting.

The cabinet “reiterated its categorical rejection of the Israeli occupying forces' continued blatant violations of all international resolutions and laws”, and emphasised the need for the international community's intervention to alleviate the “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

The session took place amid a series of deadly Israeli strikes on Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians.

Following a strike on a refugee camp in Rafah that killed at least 45 people. Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the Israeli air strike.

The kingdom's Foreign Ministry called on the international community “to intervene immediately to halt the massacres” committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

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Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Updated: May 29, 2024, 6:48 AM