Amman: Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto Wednesday discussed the Israeli war on Gaza and the international efforts for a ceasefire.
During a press conference of the two ministers, Safadi welcomed Norway, Ireland and Spain’s decision to recognise the Palestinian state. “There are other European countries on this path, and we value this decision and consider it an important and essential step to confirm that the path to peace is the two-state solution that embodies the independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
He said, “We hope that these decisions today will be part of a broader movement that realises peace and puts the region and the world on a clear path toward peace.”
On the escalation in the occupied West Bank, he said, “The situation is worsening, and the illegitimate repressive measures that kill the chances of achieving peace continue.
“We saw an intrusion by the extremist Israeli Minister
Ben Gvir into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in violation of international law and the existing historical and legal situation in the holy sites.”
He added, “We held fruitful and impactful talks regarding bilateral relations, and we signed four memorandums of understanding that will contribute to increasing bilateral cooperation between our two countries in various fields, the most important of which are the fields of environment and education.”
He noted that they agreed to provide 400 scholarships for Jordanians in Hungary in cooperation between the Ministry of Higher Education in the Kingdom and the relevant authorities in Hungary.
He added, “We stressed that we are continuing to work to develop our bilateral relations and create broader horizons for cooperation in many sectors, including the economy, environment, education, water, infrastructure and other sectors.”
Safadi added, “There was extensive talk about the situation in the region, specifically the catastrophe that the aggression continues to impose
on Gaza and the region.
“Today things have gone for the worse. In Gaza, we have seen international organisations ceasing aid operations due to the lack of the necessary conditions,” accusing the Israeli forces of restricting the work of international organisations.
He added, “The situation is already on the brink of explosion, and we have seen decisions by other ministers allowing the return of illegal settlers to settlement outposts that Israel itself announced its dismantling years ago.
“We also saw the extremist Israeli Minister of Finance announce that he will not give the Palestinian Authority its right to its financial allocations. We also saw a trend toward building new settlement outposts specifically in the E1 area, which will consolidate the separation of the West Bank.”
He urged the international community to take action. “Enough wasting time and enough allowing illegal and illegitimate measures that push the region towards further aggravation.”
He warned, “The situation in the occupied West B
ank is on the brink of abyss. If the situation in the West Bank explodes, the conflict will take a more dangerous and greater turn. The [Israeli] measures announced today are measures that push towards further aggravation.”
Safadi called on the international community to take action for piecemeal steps towards realising the two-state solution by ending the Israeli war on embattled Gaza, allowing aid in, lifting restrictions on the work of international and adhering to the international law organisations.
On Israel’s violations in the occupied West Bank and non-compliance with peace agreements, Safadi said, “Jordan and all Arab countries supported the talks held by the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Qatar and the United States of America to reach a deal that would resolve this issue in its entirety.
“This has not been achieved. We want to end all conflict, and for it to end, its causes must end. All Arab countries condemned the killing of civilians on October 7, but we did not hear a single Israeli of
ficial condemning the killing of more than 35,000 Palestinian citizens in Gaza; 70 per cent cent children and women.”
He added, “October 7 did not happen in a vacuum, and we must put things in their context to know how to deal with them. The basis of the conflict in the region is that there is an illegal occupation that deprives an entire people of their right to live in freedom and dignity in their independent, sovereign state.”
He added, “The world supports the two-state solution as the only way to achieve peace. The two-state solution means the end of the occupation and means that an independent, sovereign Palestinian state will live in security and peace alongside Israel.
“This is what Jordan has worked for over decades to achieve a just and comprehensive peace consistent with international law and international legitimacy resolutions.”
On refugees, Safadi said, “Jordan is the largest host country for refugees in the world per capita, and the Kingdom has done everything it can to provide a decent livi
ng for refugees, but now we face a challenge that many donor countries have begun to abandon their role and are trying to place the responsibility of caring for refugees on the host countries alone.”
“That is, to Jordan. Our message to the world is that we have done everything we can. We will continue doing everything we can to provide a decent life for refugees, but this is a shared responsibility and not our responsibility alone. The serious decline in the support provided to refugees will reflect negatively on the lives of refugees.”
Safadi stressed, “This fault is not on us, the fault of that is on those who did not do their part and did not provide services,” warning that there would be a shortage of services provided to refugees in the coming period because “we will not be able to fill the void as a result of the international community not fully committing to its obligations concerning refugees.”
Safadi added, “There will be a meeting in Brussels within two days to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis.
Our message will be clear that the international community that does not do its part in supporting refugees is the one that will bear the consequences of the decline in services.”
On international recognition of the State of Palestine, Safadi said European countries will start recognising the State of Palestine “in the coming days.”
He added, “We highly value this decision, and we believe that it is a fundamental and necessary step to respond to what the Israeli government is doing in terms of its rejection of the two-state solution and rejection of the right of the Palestinian people to their freedom and independent state.”
He added, “We have been in contact with Norway, Ireland, all European countries and the international community to end the aggression against Gaza and to put the region on a clear and strict path towards achieving a two-state solution.”
For his part, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto said, “This year we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the beginning of our diplomatic relations
, coinciding with the Kingdom’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of His Majesty the King assuming his constitutional powers.
“I would like to take advantage of this occasion to say that we in Hungary view with all appreciation and respect Jordan’s role in the region.”
Szijjarto added, “Jordan’s clear and frank position is important to us, and we respect it because we believe that policies based on rationality give us hope that security can once again return to the Middle East.”
He said, “The terrorist attack on October 7 opened a new era in the life of the Middle East, and this new situation in the Middle East constitutes a security threat even to Europe.
“For our part, we believe that the international community must focus on not allowing the situation to escalate in the Middle East.”
Szijjarto praised Jordan’s part in hosting refugees. “If Jordan had not cared for hundreds of thousands and millions of refugees, we would have had to do so. Jordan deserves all the help and support from Europe.”
Szijj
arto said, “In the coming period during Hungary’s presidency of the EU, we would like to invite the European-Jordanian Joint Council to convene and discuss the forms of support that the European Union can provide to Jordan so that we can reduce the burden on Jordan and reduce the burden on Europe from future waves of migration.”
Source: Jordan News Agency