Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Josep Borrell chaired Monday in Barcelona, Spain, the eighth regional forum of foreign ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean countries.
The forum, which brought together foreign ministers, representatives of EU member states, European Union officials, and representatives of relevant regional organizations, discussed means of a ceasefire and the dangerous deterioration and humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the raging war on the Gaza Strip.
Safadi delivered a speech in which he stressed that “we convene at a moment where we must convene because we are facing a catastrophe, unparalleled in years and us being here is an extremely important message that we will continue to stop this catastrophe, stop this war and put all our region on a path of a just and last and comprehensive peace that our one neighborhood deserves and has be
en working for a long time.”
“Our Union was born out of a promise for peace, a just, comprehensive and lasting peace that would have put decades of conflict behind, that would have put our region on a path towards development, growth and opportunity for all. That promise was broken,” he added.
“Israel reneged on its commitments to peace. It did not implement Oslo. It acted against the land-for-peace formula, on which the Madrid Process was launched. It has denied the region the peace that the Barcelona process, which gave birth to our Union, sought to enhance. It has systematically worked to consolidate occupation, thus undermining the two-state solution. It is “to crush the Palestinian ambition” for statehood and I’m quoting Israeli prime minister here, and not to peace that it has been committed.”
He continued: “And here we are. We convene at the 15th anniversary of the UfM at a time of war. Not a time of peace. This war on Gaza is unlawful. It is inhumane. It is devastating a whole society with killing,
displacement and destruction of health, educational and all other basic infrastructure in Gaza. This brutality, this blatant violation of international law cannot be justified.”
“We in the Arab world, in the Muslim world have unequiocally condemned the killing of Israeli civilians on October 7. But as deep as the pain is, as blinding as the outrage is, they cannot make the killing of around 15 thousand innocent Palestinians, over 6000 of them, children, acceptable,” he stressed, saying “This aggression must stop. Silence towards it must end. Weapons fueling this war must no longer flow. Political positions that Israel is exploiting to continue with the bloodbath must change. War crimes cannot and must not be normalized. Those responsible for them must be held accountable. Israel cannot be above the law.”
“We must all work to ensure that the current truce, which is supposed to end today, inevitably and immediately, becomes a permanent ceasefire. We must ensure that Gaza gets all the humanitarian supplies it
desperately needs. And UN organizations are enabled to do their job without hindrance. Israel must know it will not be allowed to force another population transfer out of Palestine. That the 1.7 million Palestinians already displaced in occupied Gaza will return to their rebuilt homes,” Safadi pointed out.
Source: Jordan News Agency