Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and the German Foreign Affairs Minister,
Annalena Baerbock, Thursday discussed in Amman efforts to end the Israeli war on Gaza.
Safadi and Baerbock discussed the Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank and warned of its ‘disastrous’ consequences.
Safadi urged taking international actions to deter the Israeli government’s aggression and protect the region.
The top diplomats discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, where Safadi thanked Germany for its support but warned of the danger of declining international support for refugees and the organisations concerned with providing care for them.
In a conference, Safadi said the Israeli government is exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe that violates international law and international humanitarian law, accusing Israel of waging a new war in the occupied West Bank in Palestinian cities and residents in the occupied territories.
Safadi said the extremist ‘racist’ ministers in the Israeli government are continuing their
incitement and spreading the culture of hatred and attacking Islamic sanctities and besieging the right of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem.
He added, “We talked today about what we can do to prevent matters from getting worse and to prevent the situation in the West Bank from exploding and the expansion of this war regionally.”
Safadi said, “The Kingdom’s clear position is that the first step towards reducing escalation is to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza, stop the war in the West Bank and stop the attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.”
He added, “I clearly informed Minister Baerbock that with regard to the holy sites, Jordan has a special responsibility in light of the historical Hashemite guardianship over the holy sites, and we previously said that all options are open to confront attempts at escalation and attacks on the holy sites, including going to international courts to stop the Israeli escalation and the clear violation of the historical and lega
l status quo in the holy sites.”
Safadi said the Kingdom’s priority is to stop the war on Gaza and the escalation in the occupied West Bank and to allow sufficient humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and prevent more people from dying of hunger and thirst.
Safadi added, “I spoke clearly with Her Excellency that Germany has always been a pioneer in pressing for the implementation of international law and the implementation of international humanitarian law.
“Germany’s status and German values ??require Germany to take clear steps regarding imposing sanctions on the Israeli government and Israeli officials who spread a culture of hatred, incite murder, justify the killing of innocents and push the entire region toward escalation.”
Safadi added, “It is time for Germany to take steps consistent with historical German positions, German values, international law and international humanitarian law and to impose sanctions on Israel because after more than ten months of this aggression, Netanyahu did not listen to the
Security Council, did not listen to the General Assembly, did not listen to the International Court of Justice and did not even listen to the advice of his friends in the West.”
Safadi said the war had killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, buried children under the rubble, undermined international law, weakened the credibility of many countries in the region and destroyed 30 years of efforts to convince people of the feasibility of achieving comprehensive and just peace.
Safadi added, “We in the Kingdom have always been advocates of peace, and the peace we want is a just peace that fulfills the Palestinian people’s right to a statehood, freedom, sovereignty and independence on their national soil and that also guarantees Israel’s security and acceptance in the region.
“The future cannot be a future of security and peace unless the Palestinians obtain their full rights.”
Safadi discussed the position of Jordan and Arab countries that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensiv
e peace. “But Israeli measures on the ground, such as building settlements and confiscating lands, have killed all chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”
Safadi indicated that he and Baerbock discussed the exchange deal and stressed support for the exchange deal and the efforts made to reach an exchange deal that ultimately leads to a permanent ceasefire.
Safadi accused Israeli Prime Minister Bengamin Netanyahu of disrupting an exchange deal, adding that Netanyahu has changed his positions and withdrew from the commitments he had made to the countries working to realise a deal.
Safadi praised Germany for supporting Jordan’s economy and its aid for Gaza and Syrian refugees in Jordan.
He thanked Germany for its continued support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as the UN agency is being subjected to a “political assassination” attempt by the Israeli government.
He added that no party is capable of playing the humanitarian role that UNRWA plays, no
ting, “We also talked about the issue of Syrian refugees, and as I said before, there is a noticeable decline in international support for refugees and international organisations that provide support for refugees.
“Germany is one of the largest, or perhaps the largest, supporters of Syrian refugees, but we in the Kingdom must sound the alarm and say that there is a significant decline. We in Jordan will not be able to meet the needs of refugees without international support that is supposed to continue to come to their aid.”
Safadi added that Jordan has provided everything it can to support Syrian refugees in the Kingdom and has provided education and health services to them as it has provided to Jordanians.
He added, “Jordan will not be able to bear the burden alone, and if the international organisations concerned with refugees do not continue their role, we will not be able to fill the void.”
Safadi added, “We disagree and agree, but I believe that in the end we want one thing, we want a permanent and
just peace based on a two-state solution that meets the rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state on their national soil on the lines of June 4, 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, to live in security and peace alongside Israel.”
Safadi stressed, “It is time for the international community to speak with one voice, stand by international law, say enough killing, enough destruction and take steps that impose consequences on the Israeli government and its escalation and pushing the region towards more destruction and conflict.”
Safadi noted Jordan’s full solidarity with Germany regarding the attack that took place today in Munich, “Your security and stability are two things that we stand by you in, and Jordan has a firm position against all forms of violence and respect for international law.”
He emphasised the Kingdom’s rejection of the allegations promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, and the false allegations of Isr
aeli officials regarding the borders with Jordan.
He said, “Israel must withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip, and this is a position that the entire international community has called for, and even the United States has said that it will not accept any Israeli forces remaining inside Gaza.
“Netanyahu invented this excuse to prevent reaching a swap deal and to prolong the war because he wants to protect his political future… We in Jordan, from day one, said that we will not accept any approach that treats Gaza as a separate part of the West Bank, and we will not deal with any approach that looks at the situation from a security perspective only.”
Safadi added, “The Israeli fabrications and allegations are false allegations aimed at justifying the continuation of the aggression on Gaza and aiming to justify the continuation of the aggression on the West Bank as well.
“We categorically reject them and say that attention must remain on the cause of the conflict and the cause of tension in the region, whi
ch is the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the continuation of the Israeli aggression in the West Bank and the continuation of killing all opportunities for achieving peace through building and expanding settlements and confiscating lands and the Israeli political evasion of the two-state solution.”
Safadi said, “There is talk about attempts to displace Palestinians to Jordan. His Majesty the King was clear when he said that this is a red line and we are clear as well. We have previously said and we confirm again that any attempt to displace Palestinians from the West Bank towards Jordan will be viewed by us as a declaration of war and we will work with it accordingly.”
He added, “In Jordan, we will continue to work according to our principles, protect our country, protect our principles, protect our positions and work to achieve a just peace”
Baerbock said Jordan has been making “unparalleled” efforts in recent months to bring about peace and defuse the escalation.
She added that Jordan pl
ays an “important and constructive” role in managing the holy sites in and that Germany rejects any attempt to destabilise the status quo in the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.
Baerbock added that Jordan is making “tremendous” efforts to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza, noting, “last May we had agreed to establish a humanitarian corridor through Jordan, and today the importance of this corridor is evident, as 120 trucks reach the Gaza Strip via Jordan per week.
“We are working together to increase this number to at least 350 trucks per week.”
She announced that her country “will support the Jordan humanitarian corridor with 5 million euros.”
Source: Jordan News Agency