Jordan reaffirms Arab Peace Initiative at UN

AMMAN — The Arab Summit hosted by Jordan in late March stressed the Arab desire for  peace and progress by ending  the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, Sima Bahous, Jordan’s permanent representative to the UN, said on Friday.

Bahous made the remarks on behalf of the Arab Group, in Jordan's capacity as head of the 28th Arab Summit, during a UN Security Council session titled "The Middle East including the Palestinian issue", the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

She said that the Arab plan, which is still considered the most comprehensive and capable of reaching a historic conciliation, is based on Israel's withdrawal from pre-1967 occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, on addressing all final status issues and on ensuring Israel’s security and acceptance by all Arabs.

The message of peace is further evidence that Arabs want a comprehensive and permanent peace as part of a clear strategic choice, which Israel should perceive as being genuine, the Jordanian diplomat highlighted.

Bahous expressed the Kingdom's support to the outcomes of the January 15 Paris peace conference that renewed the international community's commitment to the two-state solution as the only means to realising permanent peace.

The ambassador voiced the utmost rejection of Jordan and all Arab countries to the unilateral Israeli measures that aim to alter the reality on the ground and minimise the chances of realising a two-state solution.

She called on Israel to abide by the relevant international resolutions, the most recent of which is UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that calls for a cessation of settlement building on occupied Palestinian land.

On the Syrian crisis, Bahous urged the international community to share the burdens faced by host countries, through increasing financial aid and continuing to deliver the necessary services to refugees.

The diplomat also expressed support to Iraqi efforts to uproot terrorist organisations and liberate Mosul from the Daesh terror group, urging the world to support Baghdad's efforts to maintain stability in liberated areas, through achieving national reconciliation and adopting an inclusive political process.

The Kingdom supports the Arab Coalition in aiding the legitimate government in Yemen and ending the crisis based on the Gulf initiative and Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015), Bahous stressed, further underlining the importance of realising security and political stability in Libya and Somalia.

She also expressed concern over the growing trend of Islamophobia and attempts to associate Islam with terrorism, warning that such schemes only serve terror groups and their deviated ideologies.

Jordan and all Arab countries are keen on having good relations with countries neighbouring the Arab world, she highlighted, while at the same time rejecting any attempts  to interfere in Arab affairs and destabilise security and spread sectarian conflicts, the diplomat concluded.