FM reaffirms Jordan’s support for Palestinians at emergency OIC session

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi on Sunday participated in the virtual extraordinary session of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss Israel’s attacks on Palestinians, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

During the session, convened under the request of Saudi Arabia, Safadi highlighted that the emergency meeting serves as a message that the Islamic world stands united against the “illegal, immoral and inhumane” Israeli attacks and practices in occupied Jerusalem and its holy sites, in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip.

He affirmed that protecting the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem and preserving its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity is the paramount mission to which the Hashemite Custodian, His Majesty King Abdullah, devotes all Jordanian capabilities.

The Kingdom will continue to stand by Palestinians to stop injustice and fulfill all their legitimate rights, Safadi stressed.

He added that there is no comprehensive peace, security, and stability without the liberation of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967.

He called on mobilising international efforts to materialise the two-state solution according to international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Israel is pushing the entire region towards more tension and conflict, he said, underlining that it is threatening all chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace.

Deescalation requires an end to all  illegal and provocative Israeli practices, and an immediate end to the aggression on the Gaza Strip, he said, adding that forced displacement of Sheikh Jarrah’s residents would be a war crime that the international community should not allow.

The foreign minister also pointed out that attempts to change the legal and historical status of Jerusalem and its holy sites are a flagrant violation of international law and push the region towards more tension and conflict.

He described the Palestinian cause as the first and foremost issue that was and will remain as such, warning that Jerusalem and its holy sites are “a red line”.