BRUSSELS: Jordan’s foreign minister and the EU’s top diplomat have discussed Israel’s illegal measures against Palestinians and efforts to end the Syrian crisis in a meeting in Brussels.
The Jordan News Agency reported that Ayman Safadi and Josep Borrell held extensive talks as part of the minister’s tour of Europe promoting partnership with the EU to help resolve regional crises and achieve security and stability.
Safadi said that it was important for the EU to support the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, reject settlement and land confiscation and commit to respecting Jerusalem’s historical and legal status quo and its Islamic and Christian sanctities.
He also warned against the dangers of the continued deterioration in the occupied Palestinian territories. Illegal Israeli measures are fueling violence and undermining the two-state solution and need to be stopped, said Safadi.
The pair discussed the Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh meetings, and efforts made by the Kingdom to prevent escalation and activate the peace process. Europe has an “important and major” role, Safadi said.
They also reviewed Jordan’s initiative to solve Syria’s humanitarian, security and political issues and preserve its integrity through direct Arab-Syrian engagement, said Safadi.
Safadi and Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, also discussed the refugees’ crisis and highlighted the need to provide continued international support for them and the host countries.
The two sides also reviewed the ongoing preparations for holding the 7th Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, which is scheduled to be held by the EU in June 2023 in Brussels.
Jordan’s foreign minister presses EU to support end of Israeli escalation
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Jordan’s foreign minister presses EU to support end of Israeli escalation
- Ayman Safadi says Israel is fueling violence and undermining two-state solution
- Minister and top EU diplomat Josep Borrell also discussed Kingdom’s initiative to reach political solution in Syria
UN peacekeepers say Israeli forces fired on them in southern Lebanon
- “Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF soldiers in a Merkava tank,” UNIFIL said
- It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Wednesday that Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers a day earlier in the country’s south, urging Israel’s army to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest such incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF (Israeli army) soldiers in a Merkava tank,” a UNIFIL statement said, referring to the de facto border.
“One ten-round burst of machine-gun fire was fired above the convoy, and four further ten-round bursts were fired nearby,” the statement said.
It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory at the time of the incident and that the Israeli military had been informed of the location and timing of the peacekeeping patrol in advance.
“Peacekeepers asked the IDF to stop firing through UNIFIL’s liaison channels... Fortunately, no one was injured,” it said.
Last month UNIFIL said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of (UN) Security Council Resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said on Wednesday, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
“We call on the IDF to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working to rebuild stability along the Blue Line,” the peacekeepers said.
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
On Saturday, a UN Security Council delegation visiting Lebanon urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire.
It emphasized that the “safety of peacekeepers must be respected and that they must never be targeted,” after gunmen on mopeds attacked UNIFIL personnel last week.
