FM briefs Senate on Mideast, will address Security Council

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh will participate in a UN Security Council (UNSC) session to be held in New York on Thursday focusing on the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian cause.

During the session, to be attended by foreign ministers and representatives of UNSC member states, Judeh will deliver a speech on recent developments in the region, in addition to the developments in Palestine, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On Monday, Judeh briefed Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh and other senators on recent developments in the region, particularly in relation to Palestine.

Rawabdeh said Jordan’s diplomatic efforts, led by His Majesty King Abdullah, aim to serve national interests as well as the wider Palestinian and Arab interests. 

He said Jordan stands beside its brothers in their crises and causes, defending them in all ways, and stressed that Jordan’s diplomacy has become a role model in dealing with Arab and regional crises.

Judeh highlighted the contacts Jordan is making under His Majesty’s leadership to stop recurrent Israeli aggression, noting that the Hashemites are the custodians of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and will defend them through all diplomatic and legal means possible. 

The foreign minister reaffirmed Jordan’s support for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and within the June 1967 lines, based on relevant international references and the Arab Peace Initiative.