Safadi, Blinken discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday received a phone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire, deliver sufficient and immediate aid to the Gaza Strip, and agree on a prisoner exchange deal through negotiations being conducted with Egypt, Qatar and the US.

During the call, Safadi reiterated the necessity of stopping the aggression on Gaza and immediately ending the resulting humanitarian catastrophe, opening all crossings to allow aid delivery, enabling UN organisations to distribute the assistance, and obliging Israel to respect international law and international humanitarian law, according to a ministry statement.

Blinken briefed Safadi on the details of the proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on Friday to finalise a prisoner exchange deal mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

Safadi stressed that the Kingdom supports the efforts of Egypt, Qatar and the US to reach a prisoner exchange deal as quickly as possible.

He stressed the need to consider any proposal that achieves a permanent ceasefire seriously, ends the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, ensures the return of displaced people to their areas and results in the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza.

In press statements by the Foreign Ministry, Safadi said that Jordan would continue working with its partners in the international community to immediately stop the aggression, deliver all necessary aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, and launch a time-specific and fully guaranteed plan to implement the two-state solution that envisages an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital along the pre-1967 borders.

The minister stressed that Jordan supports efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal and acknowledges the importance of Egyptian, Qatari, and US efforts in this regard, highlighting the need for the international community to take a clear stance against Israel taking the entire population of Gaza as hostages, linking the cessation of its war crimes, including starvation and siege, to the hostage