The King of Jordan, Abdullah II, warned this Sunday during his meeting with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, that if Israel continues attacking Gaza there could be an “explosion” of the conflict throughout the region. “Israel’s continuation of its horrific war against Gaza and its illegal violations in the West Bank and Jerusalem will lead to an explosion of the situation in the entire region,” she said, in statements reproduced by the Jordanian news agency Petra.
Von der Leyen held meetings this weekend with the Egyptian president Abdelfatah Al Sisiand with the Jordanian king to discuss post-conflict scenarios in Gaza and look for formulas to increase the entry of humanitarian aid in the Strip. Both countries have good relations with Israel, but are concerned that the conflict will spill over their borders or that Tel Aviv will pressure to transfer some Palestinian refugees to their countries. Cairo and Amman have strongly condemned the Israeli military offensive in Gaza and have repeatedly called for a Stop the fire.
For her part, Von der Leyen stressed that “it is necessary to break the cycle of violence” and condemned the “unacceptable violence by extremists in the West Bank”alluding to the attacks of Israeli settlers against Palestinians, which have increased in this territory and in Jerusalem since last October 7. Von der Leyen appreciated Amman’s political efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue and reiterated the EU’s position of achieving peace on the basis of “two state solution“, while underlining the importance of preserving the historical and legal status of Jerusalem. The Jordanian monarch reiterated that global powers should contribute to forcing Israel to comply with international law to protect civilians in Gaza and ensure that it is allowed the uninterrupted flow of aid to the Strip.
Meanwhile, in Qatar, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Joseph Borrellmet with the Qatari Prime Minister, Abdulrahman Al Thani, within the framework of his tour of the Middle East to discuss future scenarios after the war in Gaza. During the press conference, Al Thani stated that he is confident that an agreement can be reached soon on the hostages held in Gaza and noted that the challenges in reaching it are “very minor.”
The Qatari prime minister thus contradicted the recent statements of his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said last night that “at the moment” there is no agreement and that most of the information on the issue “is incorrect.” “The sticking points (over the release of hostages) are more practical and logistical… there has been good progress in recent days,” Al Thani said. For his part, Borrell thanked Qatar for its mediation work and noted that the EU “is also putting pressure on both parties to make this agreement possible.” “I want to recognize Qatar’s personal commitment in the release of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia and also in mediating prisoner exchange agreements in Iran,” he stressed.