King Abdullah II of Jordan on Thursday proposed close coordination between Jordan and Türkiye to push for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and smooth humanitarian aid delivery into the Palestinian territory.
He made the remarks during a meeting in Amman with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in which King Abdullah II called for stronger international efforts to stop the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, according to a statement by Jordan’s Royal Hashemite Court.
The king stressed Jordan’s complete rejection of the forced displacement of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, highlighting the importance of mobilizing international pressure on Israel to allow Gazans to return to their homes.
He reaffirmed the kingdom’s rejection of attempts to separate Gaza and the West Bank, both are integral parts of the Palestinian state, and called for unifying regional positions to push for a real political horizon that leads to the two-state solution and guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 border and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Fidan also met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi on Thursday. The two sides reiterated their shared stance in rejecting the displacement of Palestinians and Israeli presence in Gaza, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“We see escalating tensions in the region on several fronts, and all of these result from Israel’s ongoing aggression and its refusal to engage in any real effort to stop the aggression,” Safadi told a joint press conference after his talks with Fidan in Amman.
He said the priorities for the two countries are clear, which include stopping the aggression on Gaza, ensuring the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid into the area, and immediately working on the home return of displaced Gazans.
For his part, Fidan said, “What Israel is doing under the pretext of ensuring its security is nothing but expansion and occupation,” reiterating his country’s firm and constant support for all initiatives aimed at achieving a final peace.
So far, 24,620 Palestinians have died, and 61,830 others were wounded in Gaza due to the continued Israeli strikes, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Thursday. The ongoing fight was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed. ■
