The Hashemite Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi reiterated his monarch’s position over detrimental consequences to bilateral relations with Israel if Jerusalem would opt to assert its sovereignty over significant parts of the West Bank. In a virtual conference of the 15-member Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, which oversees donor funding for the Palestinian Authority, the Jordanian top diplomat reiterated that “annexation will not go unanswered.” Safadi stressed that “the grave consequences of annexation” will include dire consequences “for regional peace and for Jordanian-Israeli relations.” He further asserted to the participants of the video conference, which included – among others – representatives from the Palestinian Authority, Israel, the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations, that the expansion of Israel’s territorial sovereignty “will make the (internationally aspired) two state solution an impossibility.” Therefore, Minister Safadi insisted, (Quote) “We either fall deeper into the abyss of conflict and hopelessness, or we save the peace that is a regional and international necessity.”
In other, yet related, News;
Despite the evident deterioration in the political relations between Israel and Jordan; Judicial authorities in Amman are currently prosecuting five suspects for allegedly plotting to carry out suicide attacks against Israeli targets in the West Bank. In a report published by the Paris based AFP news agency, the trial of the suspected terrorists, all of whom are citizens of the Hashemite kingdom, had begun recently at the state security court, which is a military tribunal that usually deals with terrorism-related cases. The report quoted one Judicial source as saying, “The state security court recently began legal proceedings against five people accused of involvement in a terrorist plot, which the intelligence unit foiled in February.” There was no immediate comment from Israel vis-à-vis the reported trial.
In other news,
he IDF spokesperson’s unit informed TV7 that as part of “a joint operation, IDF troops along with Israel Police forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle illegal weapons along Israel’s border with Jordan.” The statement provided a recount of the event, which occurred two weeks ago. It read: “Israel Police forces operated to stop two suspects who crossed into Israeli territory and fired towards them.” The statement confirmed that “One of the suspects was lightly injured and transferred to a hospital in Israel for medical treatment; while the second “suspect fled the area into Jordan.” During the operation, “nine pistols, six rifles and additional smuggled weapons were seized.” There were no injuries reported among the Israeli forces. And while Jordanian Authorities did not immediate respond to this report, a security source told TV7 that it clearly indicates the strong cooperation between Jordan and Israel in all that relates to maintaining peace and security.