RIYADH, Oct 19 (AFP) - The Saudi government has called for a truce in violence-torn Iraq during the current Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in a statement published Tuesday.
"All sides should make this holy month a turning point so that Iraq achieves security and stability," said the statement issued after an overnight cabinet meeting chaired by King Fahd, the first since Ramadan began in the kingdom last Friday.
The government also urged Iraqis to "stand as one against all those seeking to destabilize (their country) or undermine its territorial integrity and independence," said the statement, carried by the state SPA news agency.
Faced with escalating violence by anti-US insurgents, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced Monday he planned to expand a weapons buyback program that started last week in a Baghdad Shiite slum to cities nationwide.
The aim is to clear the streets of weapons ahead of planned January elections.
In its statement, the Saudi cabinet said it also discussed "the inhuman practices by Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people ... which do not respect the sanctity of Ramadan."
It renewed calls on the international community to "force Israel to halt this hemorrhage and comply with relevant UN resolutions".
Some 130 Palestinians were killed in a massive Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip which ended over the weekend. Israel said the campaign was designed to stop rocket attacks on Israeli territory from northern Gaza.