Jordanian king rejects attempts to separate Gaza, West Bank

AMMAN, Jordan

Jordanian King Abdullah II on Tuesday stressed his country's rejection to any attempt to separate the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli war on the besieged Palestinian enclave marked one month.

The Jordanian monarch made the comment in the Belgian capital Brussels during his meeting with Ursula von Leyen, president of the European Commission, according to a statement by the Jordanian Royal Court.

King Abdullah II affirmed that both the West Bank and Gaza "are an extension of the Palestinian state."

He also reiterated "the necessity of working in the post-war phase towards resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution."

The Jordanian king also separately met head of EU Council Charles Michel, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas a month ago.

At least 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children and 2,719 women, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

At least 163 Palestinians have also been killed and 2,200 others injured by the Israeli forces across the West Bank during the same period.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said people across the Gaza Strip have been denied aid, killed and bombed out of their homes for a month. "Daily struggles to find bread and water. Blackouts cut people off from loved ones and the rest of the world. This is forced displacement and humanitarian tragedy of colossal proportions," it said in a statement on X.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar