King meets UN chief, warns of repercussions of dangerous regional escalation

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, during a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday, warned of the repercussions of the dangerous escalation in the region.

During the meeting, held at the UN headquarters in New York, His Majesty called for reaching an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza as a first step to end escalation, stressing that Israeli violations in the West Bank must stop, including extremist settler attacks against the Palestinians and violations of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, according to a Royal Court statement.

The King reiterated the need to reach an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, renewed his call on the international community to enhance the humanitarian response in Gaza, and stressed the importance of protecting workers in relief organisations.

His Majesty reiterated his call to bolster the international response to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, stressing the importance of protecting relief workers to enable them to undertake their duties, the statement said.

The King expressed appreciation of Secretary-General Guterres’ support for a ceasefire in Gaza and his efforts towards creating a political horizon that leads to achieving peace on the basis of the two-state solution.

His Majesty also called on the international community to maintain support for UNRWA to enable it to undertake its humanitarian duties in accordance with its UN mandate.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, and Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mahmoud Hmoud attended the meeting.