On the Middle East, the council stressed that a comprehensive just and lasting peace can be achieved only by complete withdrawal of Israel from the Arab territories occupied in 1967, in Palestine, the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the land still occupied in southern Lebanon, as well as the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital as East Al-Quds, which are the principles contained in the Arab Peace Initiative, and reflected in the resolutions of relevant international legitimacy. As for the Yemeni affairs, the Ministerial Council welcomed the decision of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi in setting March 18th, 2013, the date for the start of a comprehensive national dialogue conference as an important step on the road to complete the implementation of the GCC initiative and its executive mechanism to lay the foundations of building a modern civil state. With regard to Iraqi affairs, the Ministerial Council condemned bombings in Iraq, stressing the importance of dialogue and consensus among the strata of the Iraqi people and their participation in the political process to preserve Iraq's unity, security and stability. --SPA 12:58 LOCAL TIME 09:58 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1084072