Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman al-Safadi has accused Israel of “killing 30 years of work” aimed at finding peace in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters after the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Forum 2023 in Barcelona, al-Safadi said, “That work is being rendered meaningless with the continuing of this war with more people losing faith in the viability of this process.”
He labelled “what is happening in Gaza” as “within the realm of the legal definition of genocide.”
He said that the world had to acknowledge that Hamas’s attack on 7 October must be seen in the context of the treatment of Palestinian people by the Israeli government.
Israel’s government, he said, “has systematically worked to undermine the prospects for peace, to deny the Palestinian people … their culture, their history, their rights to exist.”
That was “terrorism too,” he added.
Al-Safadi also pointed out the credibility of international law, saying, “International law was made so that everybody abides by it.”
“It was made so all countries adhere to it. It was not made so that some countries are allowed to break it,” he added.
“Israel has been acting as if it’s above the law and this has to stop,” he averred.
Additionally, the Jordanian Foreign Minister stated that Israel must realise that peace with its neighbours is not a concession for anyone.
“Nobody is doing anybody a favour by opting for peace,” He noted.
“We want peace for both peoples. We want peace so that Palestinians and Israelis can live without the humiliation of occupation or the fear for security,” he added.
He also called on leaders to dial down the rhetoric and stop accusing those urging peace as “anti-this or anti-that.”
Al-Safadi said, “I think the horrific cost of this war dictates that we act in unison and we act clearly … to stop a catastrophe that’s threatening the security of the whole region, and which will have repercussions that will go beyond the region into our neighbourhood in Europe and elsewhere.”
“If we all agree that the two state solution is the only path to it, what are we going to do if Israel refuses to engage just as Israel is now refusing to abide by international law?” he asked.
“Are we going to continue to offer lip service to the two state solution? Or are we going to come together united and say, ‘we have to stop this conflict?’
“And we’re going to do whatever it takes to end this conflict and anybody who’s standing in the way needs to be pressured into doing what’s right for the Palestinians, and for the Israelis.”
Ayman al-Safadi
“Because when we speak about peace, we’re not taking sides,” he asserted.
“Palestinians Cannot Pay For Hamas’ Actions”
At a press conference after the Union for the Mediterranean Regional Forum, Josep Borrell averred, “Palestinian people cannot pay for the action of Hamas.”
The EU Foreign Policy Chief stated, “We are in a ceasefire that has to be extended towards a final solution.” he said.
“It makes no sense to give food to somebody that will be killed the day after. We need to stop the bombardment, and we have to avoid more deaths. Humanitarian help is necessary, but it’s not enough.
“For 30 years we have been repeating that we need the two-state solution but we have done almost nothing to achieve it and today we have to realise that the deaths will continue if we don’t get to an end solution.”
Josep Borrell
Borrell also urged Israel to act within international and humanitarian law.
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