ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi strongly condemned the inhumane Israeli attack on mourners during the funeral of Al Jazeera Journalist's Shireen Abu Akleh.

Safadi, who is currently in Washington D.C., stressed that such attack requires a global vigilance that halts the Israeli aggressive behavior and provides protection for the brotherly Palestinian people.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Safadi offered condolences to Al Jazeera network and the relatives of Shireen Abu Akleh, stressing that all signs and eyewitnesses indicate that the martyr was assassinated by a bullet fired by one of the Israeli occupation soldiers.

Safadi stressed that the assassination of the martyr Shireen Abu Akleh, the killing of scores of Palestinians, and what is happening in Jerusalem are dangerous indicators that call for a real international move to stop this escalation and revive a real peace process that leads us towards a just and comprehensive peace.

Responding to a question, Safadi said, "Israel bears the responsibility for what happened, by continuing to assert the occupation, by continuing to close the prospects for finding a just and comprehensive peace, which will not be achieved if the Palestinians do not obtain their right to a decent life in their independent, sovereign state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, on pre-1967 borders."

Safadi said, "There can't be security with the occupation, and no peace with the continuation of the occupation. Occupation and peace are two opposites that cannot meet."

He warned of what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories and described it as "dangerous", adding that, "And what is happening cannot continue. There must be a real movement towards ending the occupation, towards protecting the Palestinian people, towards achieving a just and comprehensive peace that meets all the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people."

Israel does not enjoy sovereignty over the holy sites nor Al Aqsa Mosque, according to international law and the United Nations Security Council resolution 476, adopted on 30 June 1980, declared that "all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In response to a question on the U.S. position on the Palestinian cause , Safadi said, "We are constantly talking with the United States of America. There is an important development in the U.S. position compared to the positions of the previous administration, where the current administration supports the two-state solution, the need to stop settlements, and respect the historical status quo in Jerusalem and its sanctities."

The U.S. president during his meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II stressed his support to the two-state solution, respect the historical status quo of the holy sites and the centrality of the Hashemite Custodianship over the holy sites, Safadi noted.