Jordan’s King Abdullah II has pronounced that his country and Egypt are not ready to receive Palestinian refugees.
The King made this remark during a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“There will be no refugees in Jordan, and no refugees in Egypt,” King Abdullah averred.
“That is a red line because I think that is the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground,” he added.
The press conference came ahead of a trip by Scholz to Israel and Egypt, where the Chancellor hopes to de-escalate tensions and improve the situation for Palestinians seeking to flee the conflict zone.
Scholz is heading to Israel on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, to express his solidarity with the country.
The Chancellor will continue to Egypt on Tuesday evening, and is scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Wednesday morning.
Scholz and other Western leaders hope that Egypt could open its border with Gaza to allow in refugees.
However, the Jordanian King downplayed the possibility of such an event.
He said, “This is a situation that has to be handled within Gaza and the West Bank. And you don’t have to do it on the shoulders of others.”
On his part, Scholz stated at the press conference, “It is imperative that the suffering civilian population, who are being used as human shields by Hamas, receives humanitarian aid.”
Scholz added, “the Palestinians are not Hamas … the Palestinian population is also a victim of Hamas.”
Scholz also issued a warning that the war must not escalate further. “I again specifically warn Hezbollah and Iran not to intervene in the conflict,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli military Spokesperson, Daniel Hagari said that the status of the Gaza Strip after Israel’s planned ground offensive would be a “global issue” for discussion by Israel’s politicians and with other countries.
In response to a question during a news briefing, about whether Israel’s military planned to stay and govern Gaza after its ground invasion, Hagari said, “We’ve had all kinds of end games.”
He added, “The cabinet is also discussing what that could look like … this is also a global issue, what the situation will look like in this region.”
Lebanon Urges Israel To Cease Provocations
Also on Tuesday, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Bou Habib stated that Israel must stop its provocations along the Lebanon-Israel border, saying Israel was “pouring oil on fire.”
“We are not pro-war. We really want calm in the region,” he said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
There has been more exchange of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border.
The Israeli army said on Tuesday that it launched munitions towards southern Lebanon after anti-tank fire targeted one of its military posts near Magaliot.
It also said that there was small-arms fire at several points along the border.
The Israeli army revealed that it received reports of a shooting inside an Israeli settlement in Metula, a town on the border with Lebanon.
Metula has been declared a military zone after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of at least 28 settlements within 2km (1.2 miles) of Israel’s northern border as the exchange of fire has been increasing over the past week.
Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, on his part, stated that Egypt will host a summit of state leaders on Saturday, October 21, 2023, to discuss the war in Gaza.
He also said his country was in talks with Hamas on the release of captives held by the group in the Gaza Strip.
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