Update – Qatar's Emir Arrives İn S. Arabia For Gaza Talks

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been reeling under relentless Israeli attacks since July 7.



The two leaders held talks on bilateral cooperation and the latest developments at Islamic, Arab and international levels, including the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.



Tamim's visit comes amid diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Palestinian resistance factions and Israel.



Since July 7, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with fierce aerial bombardments with the ostensible aim of halting rocket fire.



At least 635 Palestinians have been killed – mostly civilians – and nearly 4000 others injured in Israel's ongoing offensive, now in its third week.



Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rocket at Israeli cities in response to relentless Israeli bombardments.



According to official Israeli figures, 30 Israelis, mostly soldiers, have been killed since hostilities began.



Last week, Egypt unveiled a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but the proposal was rejected by Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Several Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, have supported the Egyptian ceasefire proposal.



Thursday's meeting between the Saudi and Qatari leaders is their first since November, when Sheikh Tamim signed a document in Riyadh aimed at staving off diplomatic tension between Doha and both Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.



The three Gulf States collectively pulled their ambassadors from Qatar in March, claiming Doha had violated a 2013 security pact and interfered in their domestic affairs.



Many observers, however, linked the move to Doha's perceived support for ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and the latter's embattled Muslim Brotherhood group.



Following Morsi's ouster and imprisonment by the army last year, a number of his supporters fled to Qatar – which had been a key regional ally of the Morsi administration – amid a heavy-handed crackdown on dissent by Egypt's army-backed interim authorities.



By Ahmed al-Masri



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Riyad