Jordan, Germany reiterate call for immediate halt to assault on Gaza

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday held a joint press conference in Amman to stress the two countries’ efforts to halt the assault on the Gaza Strip.

Safadi told reporters at the Foreign Ministry that Jordan is coordinating with Germany to end the war on the Gaza Strip and to prevent its expansion.

“We aim to save the innocent because the war will not pave the way for a better future, but it could push towards more tension and violence in the region,” Safadi said.

The foreign minister also announced during the press conference that Jordan will send “a new plane with aid to Egypt so that it would be sent to the Gaza Strip”.

“Our priority is to secure immediate aid into Gaza because preventing its entry is a war crime,” Safadi stressed.

Depriving innocent people of food and water and depriving patients of medicine is a war crime, he said.

Safadi warned that the stock of medicines and medical supplies in the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza is only sufficient for one week and there is an urgent need to supply the hospital with the needed support.

Safadi also pointed out that “the decision to stop the war lies with Israel, not Jordan”.

In addition, Safadi pointed out there is no difference between one victim and another based on their nationality or religion.

“Violence does not justify violence and killing does not justify killing,” he stated.

Safadi said, “We need to be honest with the Jordanian people.”

“We will not sell our people any slogans or illusions, since throughout history we had Jordanian martyrs in Palestine,” Safadi said, adding he was hopeful that the war on the Gaza Strip would be the last one.

He stressed that Jordan’s position is clear and based on reaching a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solutions.

“It is not possible to jump over the Palestinian issue. There is no security, stability and peace in the region without everyone obtaining it,” Safadi stressed.

The Jordanian minister reiterated during the press conference Jordan’s rejection of displacing Palestinians from their land.

“Any step in this direction would lead to a new war in the region, and Jordan would not allow the crisis created by Israel to be transferred to Jordan,” Safadi stressed.

He reminded reporters that he had said in the past that Jordan would “confront in every way possible any attempt to displace Palestinians”, adding, “I said it before that displacement is a declaration of real war.”

“We will confront any attempt to displace the Palestinians in the context of changing geography or demographics,” he stressed.

Palestinians do not want Jordan as an alternative homeland to their homeland, and neither do the Jordanians, he stressed.

But he was quick to add that Jordan fears the worst because “it seems that this war is not coming to an end soon”.

But he added that “we are hopeful that there will be some hope with the decision to allow aid to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border”.

Meanwhile, Baerbock told the press conference that her country decided to increase the aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by 50 million euros.

“This aid will go to support humanitarian and UN agencies,” Baerbock added.

She expressed her sorrow when she imagined “[Palestinian] women giving their children salted water because they do not have fresh water”.

“We have worked over the past few days to secure drinking water for people in the Gaza Strip,” she stressed.

Baerbock added: “I know how difficult the situation is for the people in your country.”

“This nightmare is in your neighbourhood and for us comes at a difficult time as your country is facing difficult economic conditions due to the Russian-Ukrainian events. Food prices and inflation have risen,” she said.

The German foreign minister stressed that the Israelis and the Palestinians should live together and this could not be achieved without the two-state solution.

Earlier in the day, Safadi and his counterpart held an extensive discussion as part of efforts to stop the war on Gaza and the human suffering it causes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two stressed the need to ensure the protection of civilians and adherence to the rules of international humanitarian law.

The meeting stressed the need to intensify efforts to launch immediate and effective international action to stop the war and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.