AMMAN — Jordan on Sunday held Israel
responsible for the dangerous situation in the occupied Palestinian lands,
calling for an immediate end to the violence there.
اضافة اعلان
In his remarks at a virtual meeting of the
Security Council to address the ongoing conflict in Palestine, Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi
said the escalation stops by bringing an end to the offensive on
Gaza, and by
stopping all illegal Israeli practices that originally sparked the violence in
occupied Jerusalem and in the rest of the Palestinian territories.
Safadi stressed that the status quo cannot continue, and a
just and lasting peace is a strategic choice and a regional and international
necessity, a ministry statement said.
The top diplomat, who was in the US engaged in a diplomatic
rush to end the crisis, told the meeting that peace cannot be achieved by
building settlements, which, he said, undermine the two-state solution and
constitute a flagrant violation of international law and resolutions of
international legitimacy.
He pointed out that peace cannot be achieved through the
confiscation of Palestinian lands or demolishing Palestinians’ houses or
evicting them from their homes.
Safadi pointed out that the international community and the
Security Council must assume their responsibilities and oblige Israel to
respect the rights of the people of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in their
homes. In accordance with international law and international humanitarian law,
Jerusalemites should be treated as protected residents and the planned eviction
of Palestinian families from the area is war crime, citing Security Council
Resolution No. 478 of 1980, which stipulates that Israeli courts have no
authority in occupied Jerusalem.
Safadi said: “The occupation is the source of conflict and
the basis of all evil.” international humanitarian law,
Jerusalemites should be treated as protected residents and the planned eviction
of Palestinian families from the area is war crime, citing Security Council
Resolution No. 478 of 1980, which stipulates that Israeli courts have no
authority in occupied Jerusalem.
Safadi said: “The occupation is the source of conflict and
the basis of all evil.”
Safadi added that to achieve this, the international
community must act swiftly to create the right climate to serious negotiations
that should lead to the end of the occupation and the prevalence of a just
peace on the basis of the two-state solution.
“There is no time to waste, the historical injustice that
the Palestinian people are exposed to must end; this inhuman occupation must
disappear, and our region must enjoy the security, stability and peace it
deserves,” Safadi said.
During the meeting, reported Agence France Presse,
Palestinian and Israeli leaders both appealed for support at a UN Security
Council session Sunday but little action was in sight despite soaring violence,
with China accusing the United States of obstructionism.
After a delay pushed by the United States, Israel’s critical
ally, the Security Council held its first public meeting on nearly a week of
violence that has claimed 200 lives at least.
Opening the virtual session, Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres called the violence “utterly appalling” and urged Palestinian group
Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel and the latter to stop its massive air
campaign on the Gaza Strip.
“Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately,” Guterres
said.
“It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security
and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the
occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, but in the region as a whole,” he
said.
Pointing to the heavy toll on civilians, Palestinian foreign
minister Riyad Al-Maliki accused Israel of “war crimes” and — in a terminology
angrily rejected by Israel — “apartheid.”
“Act now to end the aggression and the assault on our
people, our homes, our land. Act now so freedom can prevail, not apartheid,” he
said.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, began lobbing rockets
after Israeli troops entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, sacred
both to Muslims and Jews, following moves to expel Palestinians from their
homes in the holy city.
Maliki said that Israel could not expect to “bear no
consequences” for its actions as an “occupying colonial power.”
“Israel always says, put yourselves in our shoes. But Israel
is not wearing shoes. It is wearing military boots.”
Speaking afterward, Israel’s ambassador to the United
Nations, Gilad Erdan, charged the tensions were “completely premeditated” by
Hamas as part of an internal power play after the Palestinian Authority delayed
long-awaited elections.
Palestinians, including civilians, have borne the
overwhelming brunt of the violence, with authorities in Gaza reporting that at
least 55 children are among the 190 people who have died by Sunday. Ten people
have died in Israel, including soldiers.
China, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security
Council, said the United States had blocked its efforts for “strong action” —
and invited Israelis and Palestinians to come negotiate in rising the Asian
power.
“Regrettably, simply because of the obstruction of one
country, the Security Council hasn’t been able to speak with one voice,”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
“We call upon the United States to shoulder its due
responsibilities.”
The Biden administration has insisted that it is working
behind the scenes, including through a visit to the region by an envoy, and
that a UN statement could backfire, according to diplomats.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United
Nations, stopped short of insisting on an immediate ceasefire and said the
Biden administration was in touch with all sides including Qatar, which has
close ties with Hamas, and Egypt, which has a peace deal with Israel and
borders Gaza.
“The United States has made clear that we are prepared to
lend our support and good offices should the parties seek a ceasefire,” she
said.
“We believe Israelis and Palestinians equally have a right
to live in safety and security.”
One diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity,
called the US stance “a little strange” seeing as Biden came to office vowing a
return to multilateral diplomacy.
“We thought that they will be eager also to show that the
Council is relevant in situations like this,” the diplomat said.
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