King, Egypt president welcome humanitarian truce in Gaza

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Wednesday welcomed the humanitarian truce announced in Gaza.

At a meeting held in Cairo, the two leaders stressed the need to maintain intensive action to reach a permanent ceasefire and allow the uninterrupted delivery of sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza, in line with the international consensus embodied in the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly in this regard, according to a Royal Court statement. 

The two leaders stressed their rejection of starvation and collective punishment policies inflicted on the Palestinian people, and their rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians in Gaza internally or outside the Strip.

The King and President El Sisi reaffirmed Jordan and Egypt’s full support for the Palestinians, calling on the international community to capitalise on the current truce to deliver relief aid to people in Gaza and alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe there, the statement said. 

His Majesty and the Egyptian president stressed that any efforts in pursuit of regional stability must start with launching a political process to reach a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two state-solution, and granting Palestinians their legitimate rights, foremost of which is an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King stressed the importance of the humanitarian truce in Gaza in supporting efforts to prevent the expansion of the conflict and end the war, commending the role of Egypt and Qatar in reaching the truce.

His Majesty also commended Egypt’s ongoing efforts to increase aid to Gaza, receive injured Palestinians, and evacuate foreign nationals, according to the statement. 

The King warned of catastrophic ramifications if Israel’s ground operations continue in Gaza or expand into the south.

Additionally, His Majesty warned of the dangerous Israeli escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank, including extremist settler violence, which may lead to a dangerous expansion of the conflict and chaos in the West Bank.

 For his part, President El Sisi expressed keenness on maintaining coordination with Jordan to unify positions amid the current difficult circumstances in the region.

Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan General Intelligence Department Director Maj. Gen. Ahmad Husni and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel attended the meeting.

The King returned to Jordan later on Wednesday.