Laith Al-jnaidi
05 September 2024•Update: 05 September 2024
AMMAN, Jordan
Jordan warned on Thursday that any attempt by Israel to displace Palestinians to Jordanian territory would be considered a “declaration of war.”
The warning came during a news conference by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, who is currently visiting Jordan as part of a regional tour.
Safadi said Jordan is preparing a legal file on Israeli incursions into holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, though he did not specify to which entity this file would be submitted.
He urged the international community to act before the situation ignites in the West Bank and the region.
Safadi said: “Israel is waging another war,” in reference to Israel’s escalation in the West Bank. “(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his government are pushing towards an explosion of the situation in the entire region.”
"Israeli actions on the ground have killed all opportunities for achieving a just peace," according to Safadi, who said that "stopping the aggression on Gaza and the escalation in the West Bank" is "the first step to prevent the situation in the region from worsening further."
He affirmed Jordan’s support for a hostage swap deal, accusing Netanyahu of obstructing its completion because the Israeli prime minister has "changed his positions and withdrew from his commitments."
On the possibility of Jordan playing a role in that Gaza Strip “the day after” the onslaught ends, Safadi clarified that all approaches are “purely security-related” and "have no chance of success,” he went on.
The Jordanian foreign minister emphasized that his country would not send soldiers anywhere “to become targets in an unresolved conflict.”
The Israeli army launched its largest military operation in the northern West Bank in two decades on Aug. 28, killing at least 39 Palestinians and causing massive destruction in the area.
Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank as Israel pressed ahead with its brutal onslaught on Gaza, which has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7.
At least 691 people have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.
The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19 that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
