New era in Saudi-UAE ties

February 17, 2015

Jeddah, Feb 17: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy commander of the UAE armed forces, held talks in Riyadh on Monday, opening a new era in Saudi-UAE strategic ties.

“King Salman and Sheikh Mohammed explored prospects of expanding cooperation between the two countries and discussed major regional and international developments,” said an official statement.

Crown Prince Muqrin, deputy premier, Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar, National Guard Minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, and Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the talks.

King Salman earlier received Sheikh Mohammed at Riyadh airport, breaking royal protocols, reflecting the strong relations between the two GCC countries and their joint push for bolstering regional stability.

King Salman also hosted a luncheon at his palace in honor of Sheikh Mohammed and his accompanying delegation. Senior princes, ministers and high-ranking officials, attended the banquet. Sheikh Mohammed left Riyadh later in the day.Saudi academics and economists have highlighted the strong relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and its strong impact on regional security and stability. Wahid Hamza Hashim of King Abdulaziz University described the two countries as strategic partners. “There has been good coordination and cooperation between them for the past several decades,” he said.

Fahd bin Siban Al-Sulami, a member of the board of directors of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the visit of Sheikh Mohammed and his meeting with King Salman reflected the strong and strategic ties.

UAE Economy Minister Sultan Al-Mansouri said there is good understanding between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi on political and economic issues. “Our two countries represent the largest economies in the Middle East,” he said, adding that their bilateral trade crossed SR75 billion. “This figure represents about half of the total trade between the six GCC countries,” he pointed out.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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