Dubai: Putting its weight behind the decision of fellow Arab states to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its botched aid fleet raid that killed nine activists, Qatar has said it would meet all the expenses to be incurred on the legal proceedings.
Qatar has also said it would fund a worldwide media campaign to expose Israel, its blockade of the Gaza Strip and the aggression it has been perpetrating in the territory, a report in 'The Peninsula Daily' said.
According to the report, Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa said that Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, has assured the League of the country's moral and financial support on the above issues.
At Qatar's behest the foreign ministers of Arab League member countries met in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the Israeli raid and its Gaza blockade.
"We heartily appreciate Qatar's commitment to meeting the expenses of taking Israel to court for the crime (the flotilla attack) and launching a global media campaign to expose the Israeli blockade of and aggression in Gaza," Moussa was quoted as saying by the paper.
Qatar is known for its humanitarian role in supporting the cause of the people of Gaza, the Arab League Secretary-General said.
"The Arab foreign ministers meeting focussed on ways to respond to the flotilla raid by Tel Aviv and its continued blockade of Gaza, its aggression in the Strip, and on how to remove the blockade", Moussa said.
The aim of the campaign would be to expose Israeli blockade and aggression.
The foreign ministers of Arab League (a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia) countries have decided in the Cairo meeting to eventually break the Israeli blockade of Gaza through various means.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, June 06, 2010, 13:20