The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) Joint Defense Council announced on Thursday a series of steps to enhance joint defense, following Israel’s attack in Doha last week.
In an extraordinary session in Doha, the GCC Joint Defense Council convened to assess the defense situation of the GCC states and the sources of threat in light of the Israeli aggression against Qatar, which it strongly condemned as a grave violation of international law and the UN Charter.
The meeting also aimed to direct the Unified Military Command to take the necessary executive measures to activate joint defense mechanisms and Gulf deterrence capabilities, according to an official statement.
Emphasizing that the attack on Qatar is an attack against all GCC states and that the security of the GCC states is indivisible under the Joint Defense Agreement, the Council agreed on a series of measures.
It decided to enhance intelligence sharing through the Unified Military Command; integrate air situation data into all GCC operation centers’ systems; and accelerate the work on the GCC Joint Task Force for the Early Warning System against Ballistic Missiles.
The measures also include updating collective defense plans in coordination with the Operation and Training Committee, and conducting joint exercises between air defense and operation centers within three months, with a live air exercise to follow.
Furthermore, the GCC defense ministers agreed to continue cooperation, coordination and consultation on the military and intelligence levels to bolster GCC defense integration to address challenges, confront any threats or attacks, and ensure the Gulf countries’ security and stability.
The extraordinary session brought together defense ministers and senior representatives from the six GCC states, along with GCC Secretary-General, Jassim Mohammed al-Budaiwi. The Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, chaired the session.
