Riyadh: Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh Monday warned against a possible Israeli offensive on Gaza’s Rafah and urged international action to prevent a “catastrophic” operation from happening.

Khasawneh participated in a special World Economic Forum (WEF) session on Gaza, in Riyadh, which the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, attended.

Khasawneh said, “This problem [conflict] did not begin on the seventh of October. This entire problem and catastrophe is the product of 70 years of continued Israeli occupation and Israel’s refusal to recognise the internationally recognised Palestinian rights, foremost of which is the right to establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He affirmed Jordan’s support for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and launching a political horizon that guarantees the rea
lisation of the “legitimate and just” rights of the Palestinians.

Khasawneh added that Jordan has made “major” efforts to deliver humanitarian aid by land and through airdrops, adding that the Kingdom would continue its efforts, communications and pressure to ensure the flow of aid into besieged Gaza.

Khasawneh stressed that any Israeli military action on Rafah would be “catastrophic by all standards, and would be added to the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. We call on the world to prevent it from happening.”

The Prime Minister condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and settler provocations against Palestinians, which killed many Palestinians.

“It is a tough and perhaps very frustrating time, and there is a lot of diplomatic activity in progress, and the centre of these diplomatic activities is the continued Israeli aggression on Gaza and the possibility of additional catastrophic aggression on Rafah, which by all standa
rds will be caa catastrophe that adds on a catastrophe that had led to conditions close to famine in Gaza.

His address at the WEF discussed the “Deaths and injuries and civilian destruction that is estimated to be in the vicinity of USD18.7 billion, around 93.7 of Gaza and the occupied West Bank’s GDP in the preceding years.”

He said the numbers are “quite horrific with an entire decimation of the medical and educational infrastructure in Gaza.”

Khasawneh added that every day, some 180 women give birth on average, noting that UN and humanitarian agencies’ estimates indicate that 1.1 million Children require psychological treatment and health assistance as a result of the Israeli war on the besieged enclave.

He said, “We on the Arab side moved quickly after the seventh of October to reaffirm our fundamental rejection of targeting civilians wherever they are and whoever they are. This has always been the Arab and Jordanian position, but what followed was disastrous as it fulfils the definition of war crimes
, grave violations and violations of international and international law.”

Khasawneh said establishing a Palestinian state would “fundamentally” enhance Israel’s security and stability, the prosperity of the region, the possibilities for regional integration and releasing the potential energy of this region.

He said, “The problem is once again that the Israelis continue to resort to the idea of trying the same thing again and expecting different results, which is not consistent with a political horizon that essentially takes us to cross the finish line in the context of identifying the two-state solution and working to weaken the legitimate Palestinian partner, which is the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA).”

He accused the Israeli government of “systematically” undermining the PLO and the PA as partners in ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and realising the two-state solution.

“It seems that we are falling into the trap of the politicians’ agenda and narro
w-minded political calculations,” adding that the matter is “catastrophic because, today, it is related to the political calculations of some politicians in Israel at the expense of the security and safety of the Israelis, the Jordanians, the Egyptians, the Saudis and everyone in our region and beyond,” Khasawneh said.

He added, “We saw the confrontations between Iran and Israel a few weeks ago, which were avoided from the full escalation that we were constantly warning about if this madness, attack and aggression on Gaza continues.”

He stressed the “need” for the world to unite to reach a sustainable ceasefire and ensure the continued flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Khasaeneh said, “We took a leading role in Jordan four months ago in facilitating efforts to achieve progress in making aid reach Gaza when His Majesty the King hosted a meeting of various humanitarian agencies in Amman.

“We were the first, mainly in humanitarian aid airdrops. We realised that this was not enough. We mobilised continuously
to exert pressure to ensure that all border crossings were open to allow the necessary goods to cross into Gaza because nothing compensates for the continuous and uninterrupted land bridge.”

He said, “We are now continuing to put pressure again on Israel to enable UN staff in Gaza to carry out the necessary distributions. This is a vital matter, and it is not related to the number of trucks, despite the importance of the number of trucks.”

He added that up to 500 trucks entered Gaza under normal conditions before the start of the war on Gaza on October 7.

Khasawneh said, “Today, we have an average of 320 trucks entering in theory, but in reality, we do not know whether there is an effective and safe distribution system,” adding that the only distribution system that can work and be effective is the UN and the organisations’ operating if Gaza system.

He added that the estimate is that a continuous and uninterrupted flow would need to be at about twice the original number of 500 trucks and for long periods
to meet the basic demand of the humanitarian “catastrophe” in Gaza.

He added, “Some Israeli politicians today are directing matters in the direction of focusing only on conducting an operation in Rafah or not conducting an operation in Rafah,” stressing that any military operation in Rafah would be “disastrous.”

He urged a ceasefire in Gaza and a “transition toward achieving” a two-state solution to avoid war and regional and international attention that would threaten world peace.

Khasawneh added, “Jordan has been greatly affected economically as a result of the Israeli aggression on Gaza. We have a decrease in public revenues and an increase in inflation due to tensions in the Red Sea, and this is linked to increased ship insurance in the Red Sea and transfers taking place to the Cape of Good Hope route.”

He added, “The focus must be on ending the Israeli aggression and finding a credible and irreversible political path that takes us to the two-state solution because this is what will restore regional p
eace and stability and enable the Palestinian partner, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority, to once again be able to meet the needs and legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.”

He noted, “The scale of the current disaster may prevent us from focusing on what is happening in the West Bank in terms of settler violence, economic conditions, lost economic opportunities and violations against Palestinians in terms of killing.

509 people were martyred in the West Bank, and this is a record high in recent years. Some people were evicted from their homes in the West Bank; their number since October 7 reached about 280 compared to the previous and also horrific monthly record of 128 before that.”

He warned of a “real disaster” due to the increase in settler violence in the West Bank, the loss of economic opportunities, the withholding of tax corrections imposed by the Israeli government on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and the loss of job opportunities.

Khasawneh sai
d, “The conditions that we are aware of are dangerous and have not been focused on enough as a result of what is happening in Gaza, but His Majesty the King was quick to realise that this is what is happening, and for this reason, a number of our strategic reserves of wheat and grains were directed to the Palestinian Authority.

“We also sent a field hospital to help the Palestinian Authority and the health sector in the West Bank, and we sent a field hospital to Nablus, and we have two field hospitals operating in the Gaza Strip.”

He voiced concern for the future Palestinian economy in the occupied West Bank, describing it as “dark,” accusing “some” Israeli governments of deliberately weakening the Palestinian economy.

Source: Jordan News Agency