Bahrain: Arab summit important because of regional critical challenges

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa said Saturday the 26th Arab summit was crucially important because it was held amidst "critical challenges." King Hamad, addressing the opening session of the summit, said Bahrain was keen on security and stability of region thus Arab leaders should approve creation of an Arab Military Force.
This force, he added, "will have a mandate of rapid military intervention to deter any aggression threatening security, stability and sovereignty of any of our Arab countries." King Hamad rejected proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East, and called for confronting extremism, sectarianism and terrorism.
He said Bahrain answered Saudi King Salman's call to contribute to "Operation Decisive Storm" which aimed at protecting the Yemeni people and their legitimate leadership.
The military operation, which won Arab and international backing, "has been a decisive measure and a historic responsibility," he said, and complied with Arab League charter and Arab Defense Treaty.
The military operation, added King Hamad, was carried out after failure of all diplomatic means.
The Bahraini Monarch, meanwhile, underlined the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, Iran's ending of its occupation of three UAE islands, and the right of the people in Syria, Iraq and Libya to build their own political system without foreign interference.
King Hamad also thanked His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for his presidency of the previous summit, as well as his endeavors to address disputes among Arabs.