Jordan: World cannot stay silent in face of Israeli annexation
“The decision will kill the two-state solution and fuel the conflict," said Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFJordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi attends a news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following their talks in Moscow, Russia February 19, 2020.(photo credit: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/REUTERS)
The international community must unite to halt Israeli annexation, which will institutionalize apartheid, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Wednesday as he pressed for increased UN involvement in the peace process.“The decision will kill the two-state solution and fuel the conflict, margin the one-state option an inevitable fate, which the world cannot stay silent on, especially with the institutionalization of apartheid and racism,” Safadi said, according to a report from the Jordan News Agency.Safadi spoke with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov in Amman about ongoing UN efforts to convene a meeting of the Quartet to discuss ways to save the peace process.After the meeting Safadi tweeted that he had spoken with Mladenov on "efforts to prevent illegal annexation of occupied Palestinian land [and] to create horizon for talks to solve conflict on basis of [two]-state solution [and international] law. Protecting peace requires preventing annexation."Mladenov tweeted that he had also meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri. He wrote that he had spoken with both him and Safadi "about the need to help all sides engage on resolving the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict on the basis of two states [and] avoid damaging unilateral action."Jordan and the Palestinian Authority are in the midst of a campaign to thwart any Israeli annexation attempts. The European Union and the UN have similarly expressed concerns.Last week, Mladenov called for the Quartet – composed of the UN, EU, Russia and the US – to convene and “come forward with a proposal that will enable the Quartet to take up its mediation role and work jointly with countries in the region to advance the prospect of peace.”A video conference was held between Quartet representatives last week but no action was taken.Jordan has warned that Israeli annexation, including within the context of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, would harm its 1994 peace treaty with Israel.The Palestinians, with the help of the Jordanians, have turned to the international community to ensure that the peace process will lead to a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines.
The US, in turn, is pressing for a four-year peace process that would give the Palestinians 70% of the West Bank and allow Israel to apply sovereignty over 30% in the near future.
