Jordan’s King, Pope Francis discuss Gaza, violations by illegal Israeli settlers

By Laith Al Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Pope Francis held discussions Thursday on developments in Gaza and Israeli settlers’ violations of holy sites in Jerusalem.

This came during their meeting at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, according to a statement from the Royal Court.

The King ''reaffirmed Jordan’s commitment to undertaking its religious and historical role in safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem under the Hashemite Custodianship,'' the statement said.

Jordan oversees religious affairs in Jerusalem under a peace agreement signed with Israel in 1994.

In March 2013, King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed an agreement giving the Kingdom the right to guardianship and defense of Jerusalem and its sanctities in Palestine.

The statement noted that the King ''stressed the need to stop Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in Jerusalem as well as in the West Bank,'' warning against ''the consequences of continued Israeli violations of holy sites in Jerusalem.''

The meeting also discussed ''the dangerous developments in Gaza, with the monarch stressing ''the need to immediately end the humanitarian catastrophe and impose a lasting cease-fire, while ensuring the delivery of sufficient aid through all possible means and without any obstruction or delay,'' the statement added.

The King ''reiterated that the only way to reach a just and comprehensive peace is through the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.''

On Wednesday, King Abdullah began an unannounced tour, including to Italy and the United States, to discuss the war on Gaza.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed some 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,600 Palestinians have since been killed and over 77,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul