Jordan and Egypt on Thursday rejected the “policy of collective punishment” that Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip, including “the siege, starvation and displacement of the population,” as part of Israel’s retaliation after the Hamas attack.
In a statement issued by the Jordanian Royal House and issued after a meeting in Cairo between King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the two countries reiterated their rejection of “any relocation” of Palestinians to their respective territories .
“The two leaders reiterated their calls to immediately end the war against Gaza, protect civilians, lift the siege and provide humanitarian assistance to the population,” the briefing note said, before adding that the two leaders warned of the possibility of “flooding the entire Gaza Strip.” region into a catastrophe” if the fighting “does not stop and spread.”
In this sense, they stressed that the attack that Hamas attributes to Israel on the Al-Ahli hospital in the Gaza Strip – which, according to the enclave’s authorities, caused more than 470 deaths – represents “a dangerous escalation” and condemned this “horrendous escalation ‘. crime against innocent and defenseless citizens.”
The Israeli military rejected Hamas’ accusations, saying the hospital explosion was caused by the failed launch of rockets by fighters from the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, who have already denied any involvement.
Abdullah II and Al-Sisi also expressed their “firm position” in support of the Palestinian cause and “the need for the Palestinian people to realize their legitimate rights based on the two-state solution, which includes the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the border is guaranteed’. borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
“The need to maintain close coordination and consultation between the two countries on matters of common interest, to serve their interests and Arab goals, was also emphasized during the talks,” the Jordanian royal family added.
Amman this morning confirmed the monarch’s trip to Cairo to meet the Egyptian president and discuss “how to stop Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip”, following the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has controlled the enclave since 2007.
Abdullah II’s trip to Cairo came after the cancellation of a summit that was supposed to take place on Wednesday in the Jordanian capital Amman, which was also attended by Al-Sisi, United States President Joe Biden and the Authority’s leader. to participate, Palestinian, Mahmud Abbas.
The meeting was to be canceled after the attack on the hospital in Gaza.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi argued at the time that the meeting had been canceled because the conflict “cannot be stopped now”, emphasizing on the same occasion that the purpose of the meeting was to “find a solution to end the war to stop’. to wage war, respect the humanity of Palestinians and provide the assistance they deserve.”
Al-Sisi also met today with Michael Kurilla, commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), to whom he conveyed the importance of “lowering tensions” and “resuming the path to peace on the basis of a two-state solution’. to a statement published on the online page of Egypt’s State Information Service.
The Egyptian leader warned of the need for the international community “to take into account the danger of expanding the security implications of this conflict to the entire region,” but also of the need to support the urgent delivery of “humanitarian aid” to Gaza promote. in a “sustainable way” due to the “deterioration of humanitarian conditions” in the enclave of approximately 2.3 million inhabitants.
On Wednesday, Israel said it would allow humanitarian aid from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, but warned it would end the commitment if the goods were delivered to Hamas. Hours later, Egypt confirmed an agreement to open the Rafah crossing to send humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
Source: DN
