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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, said on Saturday that Jordan's constants and firm position on the Palestinian issue are unaltered and that the Kingdom will not compromise its higher national interests.

"..These are the fundamentals that govern the Kingdom's dealing with all the initiatives and proposals to solve the Palestinian issue and achieve a just peace that we all adopted as a strategic choice, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions," he told an emergency Arab League meeting.

Safadi said that the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative came out of Arab League concord and was a unified Arab stance seeking a just, comprehensive and lasting peace that meets the Palestinians' right to freedom and an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the lines of June 4th, 1967, according to the two-state solution, a state that lives in security and peace alongside Israel.

"This historic moment also necessitates that a unified position comes out of our Arab League today that underscores the fundamentals of a just peace, which, if not achieved on the basis that are accepted by the peoples, the region will not see security, stability and comprehensive peace," he said.

The foreign minister reiterated that the two-state solution, based on international legitimacy resolutions, accredited terms of reference and the Arab Peace Initiative, is the only path to comprehensive peace. He called for launching effective and serious direct negotiations to realize the two-state solution as the goal that all international efforts should come together to bring about.

The alternative, he warned, is killing the hope and allowing despair to take root and extremism to triumph, which will inevitably explode into conflict and violence that everyone will pay for.

Safadi said that Jordan, as a credible peacemaker, warns of the "catastrophic ramification" of any unilateral Israeli move aimed at imposing new facts on the ground, building and expanding settlements and demolishing homes, stressing that annexation of occupied Palestinian land is a condemned act under international law, and will undermine peace prospects and fuel tension and conflict.

He also warned of the "destructive consequences" of any attempt to change the historical and legal status quo at the holy shrines in occupied Jerusalem, and said that Jordan, under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the custodian of the Jerusalem holy sites, will continue to defend the Islamic and Christian sanctuaries, maintain the legal and historical status quo and safeguard the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of Jerusalem.

"Jerusalem is the city of peace that should be a symbol of peace, not an arena of oppression and deprivation," Safadi said, stressing that sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem is a Palestinian one, and custodianship over its holy sites is a Hashemite responsibility.

The foreign minister said that Jordan backs any real effort to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that the people will accept, and reiterated the Kingdom's steadfast support of the Palestinians in their quest to restore their legitimate rights.

He said that the Kingdom wants a real, just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution that ends the occupation, preserves the rights of the Palestinians, ensures the security of all parties and safeguards Jordan's interests, mainly those related to final-status issues, including refugees, whose issue must be resolved in accordance with the international law and the Arab peace initiative. He emphasised that there is no settlement to the refugees or solution to their issue outside the international legitimacy framework.

Safadi also restated that Jordan will continue to be a staunch supporter of the Palestinian "brothers" in their pursuit of their legitimate rights and will continue to work with them and with the international community to attain a just peace.