The two men met amid a flurry of high-level diplomatic conversations, as Egypt and Qatar seek to mediate a deal that would end the war.
TOVAH LAZAROFF DECEMBER 27, 2023 15:54
Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2023 22:50
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah during a summit on the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, in Cairo, Egypt, December 27, 2023.(photo credit: THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Jordan’s King Abdullah discussed the importance of ending the Gaza war and preventing violence from igniting the region when he met on Wednesday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at Al Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo.
“The King and President El Sisi stressed the need for the entire world to push towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and the delivery of sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to alleviate” Palestinian suffering the Royal Hashemite Court said after the meeting.
The two men warned the war “could plunge the entire region into a catastrophe whose price everyone will pay” and stressed “the need to prevent the spillover of the conflict that threatens regional and international security and stability,” the court explained.
King Abdullah warned that the “continued expansion of Israeli operations in southern Gaza will have catastrophic humanitarian and security repercussions, especially in light of the dangerous humanitarian situation,” the court added.
Diplomatic discussions
The two men met amid a flurry of high-level diplomatic conversations, as Egypt and Qatar seek to mediate a deal that would secure the release of 129 hostages in Gaza and end the war that began on October 7.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi shakes hands with Jordan’s King Abdullah during a summit on the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, in Cairo, Egypt, December 27, 2023. (credit: THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is also holding hostages, rejected this week a three-phase Egyptian proposal that deals with hostages, ending the war and creating a technocrat government for Gaza.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden spoke with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar about a hostage deal and improving the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, only 115 trucks with humanitarian aid were inspected at Nitzana and transferred to Gaza through Egypt’s Rafah crossing.
At the United Nations’ request, Israel’s crossing at Kerem Shalom was “closed for the inspection of aid trucks today, due to logistic constraints on the Gazan side of the crossing,” COGAT said in a post on X.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Washington on Tuesday to meet with US officials including White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed planning for the day after the Israel-Hamas war, including governance and security in Gaza, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Sullivan and Dermer also discussed efforts to bring home the remaining hostages and a transition to a different phase of the war to maximize focus on high-value Hamas targets when they met on Tuesday, the official said.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expect to return to the region, including to Israel, which he already visited this month, according to the Axios website.
France on Tuesday said it was “gravely concerned by the Israeli authorities’ announcement of an intensification and continuation of fighting in Gaza, at a time when systematic bombardment has again caused a very large number of civilian casualties in recent days. France strongly reiterates its call for an immediate truce leading to a ceasefire.”
“We call on Israel to facilitate the delivery of aid throughout the Gaza Strip and take urgent measures to guarantee full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. The use of all access and traffic routes must be facilitated, including by making the Kerem Shalom crossing fully operational as a matter of urgency,” France said.
In Cairo on Wednesday, Abdullah and Sisi discussed the day after, with the Monarch reaffirming his opposition to any Israeli attempts to expel Palestinians from Gaza.
“The two leaders also stressed the need to counter any attempts to re-occupy parts of Gaza, build buffer zones in the Strip, or separate it from the West Bank,” the Royal Hashemite Court said. They called for a two-state resolution to the conflict based on the pre-1967 lines with east Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
“His Majesty stressed that the two-state solution is key to regional security, adding that it is the only way to reach peace,” the royal court stated.
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