Safadi, Spanish counterpart discuss Israeli war on Gaza, bilateral relations

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks on Wednesday with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares that focused on the situation in Gaza, the devastating consequences of the ongoing Israeli war, and the efforts being made to halt it.

Both ministers underscored the need for intensified efforts towards imposing an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza. They also stressed the importance of ensuring civilian protection and providing adequate and sustainable humanitarian aid to all affected regions in war-torn Gaza, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two top diplomats also discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance them in various fields.

Safadi and Albares also signed two memoranda of understanding, the first one pertains to political consultations between the foreign ministries of both countries and the second involves the Jordanian Diplomatic Institute and the Diplomatic School at the Spanish ministry of foreign affairs.

In a joint press conference following the meeting, Safadi acknowledged Spain’s influential role in the European Union and its longstanding commitment to peace in the region, expressing gratitude for Spain’s clear stance on justice, peace, and the rights of the Palestinian people, and for ensuring Israel’s security within the framework of concerted efforts to establish comprehensive and lasting peace, based on the two-state solution, Petra said.

Safadi also thanked Albares for Spain’s unwavering support of UNRWA, emphasising the indispensable role of the agency, especially in light of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Safadi warned of the increasing danger and stressed the need to prevent the Israeli prime minister from jeopardising the security of the entire region and to halt the ongoing war, according to Petra.

He also decried the “world’s inability to stop children dying of hunger, mothers dying of thirst, and approximately 1.7 million Palestinians being displaced, especially while Israel continues to obstruct the entry of sufficient aid to meet the needs of Palestinians”.

Albares noted that Jordan and Palestine are Spain’s primary partners in humanitarian cooperation, with Madrid dedicating around 90 million euros this year for cooperation in Jordan.

Albares also affirmed UNRWA’s “irreplaceable” role as it provides education to over 200,000 students and healthcare services to tens of thousands of people, among other services. He added that part of the contributions to UNRWA will reach Jordan, which hosts approximately 2.5 million Palestinian refugees.

Albares called for a permanent ceasefire and expressed Spain’s desire to convene an international peace conference, an initiative, he said, supported by more than 90 countries. He also emphasised the need for international recognition of Palestine as an independent, sovereign state living in security and peace side by side with Israel.

Albares also criticised Israel’s refusal to allow the entry of food and medicine, and cutting off water and electricity to the people of Gaza. He decried the “unprecedented situation in terms of the scale of brutality during the war and the international failure to confront these violations of international law”.

“After five months of the Israeli war on Gaza, its continuation cannot be justified, and the world cannot remain silent while witnessing extreme cases of famine among children in northern Gaza, with infants dying of hunger due to the lack of milk,” he said.