ammonnews.net

Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Ayman Safadi on Thursday said that the path of peace that all regional and international efforts must unite to pursue is the two-state solution which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital living in peace and security alongside Israel on pre-1967 lines.

In an interview with the Jordanian News Agency (Petra), Safadi warned that Israel's efforts to undermine this solution through its illegal measures aimed at imposing new facts on the ground, threaten to kill all chances of achieving a lasting peace.

The minister pointed out that His Majesty King Abdullah II has been spearheading intensive and continuous efforts to launch an effective international movement to resolve the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution, and to confirm the centrality of the Palestinian issue.

A just and comprehensive peace is a Jordanian-Palestinian Arab strategic choice, the minister stressed, adding that Jordan will continue to work with the international community and in coordination with Arab countries to achieve peace on the foundations that guarantee its viability and acceptance by the region's peoples.

He warned that Israel's annexation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea in the occupied Palestinian territories would blow up the foundations of the peace process and kill the two-state solution and thus end all chances of achieving peace.

Further, the minister indicated that the Israeli measures to expand settlements, confiscate Palestinian lands, and declare plans to annex the Palestinian part of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea are illegal measures that violate international law and kill hope that peace can be achieved.

The minister also warned that "the killing of hope for peace means fueling despair, undermining moderation, allowing extremism to prevail, and pushing the region towards more conflict and violence.

Safadi warned of the consequences of the Israeli violations against Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.

In this context, the minister emphasized that protecting Jerusalem and preserving the historical and legal status quo in the holy city is a priority for which His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Custodian Over Holy Sites in Jerusalem, devotes all efforts to ensure.

He stressed that protecting the holy sites and addressing all attempts to attack them is a sustainable action through direct engagement with the international community and in international organizations such as the United Nations and UNESCO.

Safadi pointed out that the Kingdom continues to work with the brothers and partners with the international community to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and ensure that it continues to carry out its duty towards Palestinian refugees as mandated by the UN.

He said that the support provided by brothers and partners in the international community to bridge the agency's budget deficit and the General Assembly’s decision to renew its mandate by an overwhelming majority at the end of last year is evidence that the international community understands the importance of the agency’s continued role until the refugee issue is resolved in the context of a comprehensive solution to the conflict.

Safadi asserted that Jordan is working according to a clear plan with partners in the international community to ensure the continued flow of financial support to the agency.

He emphasized that the Agency's continuation of its role in accordance with its international mandate represents a commitment to the refugee issue, which is one of the most important final status issues, resolved in the context of a comprehensive solution to the conflict.

In response to a question, Safadi said that Jordanian-Palestinian coordination at all levels is institutional and uninterrupted. He stressed that consultations with Arab countries are continuing and that the Arab position is committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, as affirmed by all Arab summits and decisions of the Arab League Council.