Impunity allows Israel to continue its ‘violations’: Jordan

By Laith Al-Jnaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – Impunity has allowed Israel to continue its “violations” amid ongoing attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, Jordan’s foreign minister said on Monday.

"Israel is violating its agreements with the European Union and if this is not confronted boldly, the Union will have no credibility,” Ayman Safadi said during his speech at the 9th Union for Mediterranean Regional Forum in Barcelona, Spain.

"The current Israeli government wants to remove all Palestinians from their lands, and we can’t remain idly by," he said.

“There is no alternative to the two-state solution but more war,” Safadi warned.

The forum is co-chaired by Safadi and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

The Union for the Mediterranean, an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states, was founded 15 years ago in the wake of the Oslo Accords in the spirit of shared peace and prosperity for the Mediterranean region.

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 43,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

As the conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, over 2,600 people have been killed and more than 12,000 others injured in Israeli attacks since last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar