Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi Monday held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, within the context of the ongoing coordination and consultation to counter illegal Israeli practices that undermine the peace process, and make the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip hold.
In a joint press conference after the talks, Safadi welcomed the Egyptian minister who carried a message to His Majesty King Abdullah II from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the recent escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories and joint efforts to build on the ceasefire, halt Israeli violations and find a political horizon and move to support the Palestinians to realize their legitimate rights.
He said that coordination between the two countries’ leaders was ongoing during the past period, adding that “today’s meeting discussed how to move in the future with the international community, our brothers in the region and in the State of Palestine to ensure that what happened will not be repeated, and to find a political horizon that allows for progress towards relaunching an effective international effort to end the occupation and put us on the path of achieving a just and comprehensive peace that embodies an independent Palestinian state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of June 4, 1967.”
Safadi said that the priority now should be to ensure that the ceasefire holds and the aggression on Gaza ceases and guarantee that Israeli attacks and violations that sparked the recent escalation do not recur.
He warned that Israel’s blockade of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Arab East Jerusalem and the restrictions on its people will again push the situation to explode, stressing that Israel has no right or legitimacy to evict the people in the neighbourhood from their homes, which will amount to a war crime that the international community cannot tolerate.
Safadi said that Jordan, in coordination with Egypt and the world community, is exerting every possible effort and placing its resources, at the direction of His Majesty King Abdullah, the custodian of the Jerusalem holy sites, to fend off and stop more attacks, and safeguard the existing legal and historical status quo in the holy sites and their Arab, Islamic and Christian identity.
Safadi noted that he and his Egyptian counterpart will receive US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the next few days to discuss how to move forward, adding that more contacts will take place with the Europeans and Arab countries.
He commended Egypt’s intensive diplomacy to reach the Gaza ceasefire, stressing that Cairo will remain a leader in efforts to end the conflict and achieve a just peace that fully meets the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Safadi said Jordan and Egypt agreed that there will be no just and comprehensive peace unless the occupation ends and the two-state solution is achieved according to international criteria, international legitimacy resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
Fore his part, Shoukri stressed the need to protect the Arab identity of Jerusalem and the Hashemite custodianship over the Muslim and Christian holy places and to prevent the recurrence of attacks.
He said Egypt seeks close coordination with Jordan to face regional challenges, safeguard the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and arrive at the aspired-for goal of an independent Palestinian state along the lines of 1967 with East Jerusalem its capital.
Source: Jordan News Agency