King meets Qatar emir, urges international community to push towards immediate Gaza ceasefire

His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday met with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, and called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility in pushing towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. During a meeting held at Lusail Palace in Doha, King Abdullah warned against the expansion of the cycle of violence into the region, stressing the importance of communicating with the international community to emphasise that a military or a security solution will not succeed in resolving the Palestinian issue, and that what is needed is a political solution to reach just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution. At the meeting attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, the two leaders stressed the need for the Palestinians to obtain their legitimate rights and establish their independent state on the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. His Majesty and the Qatar emir also stressed the importance of protecting civilians and allowing the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as maintaining coordination and consultation between the two countries in light of the rapid developments. The King renewed Jordan’s rejection of attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinians in Gaza or cause their internal displacement. His Majesty commended Qatar’s positions towards the Palestinians as well as its efforts, under the leadership of Sheikh Tamim, to coordinate with Arab countries and other stakeholders in working to stop the war and maintain calm. Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, General Intelligence Department Director Maj. Gen. Ahmad Husni, and Jordan’s Ambassador to Qatar Zaid Lozi attended the meeting. From the Qatari side, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Interior Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, and a number of senior officials attended the meeting. Earlier, the King and the Crown Prince were received by Sheikh Tamim upon arrival in Doha.

Source: Jordan News Agency

UN report reveals tragic toll of Israeli offensive since October 7

A recent United Nations humanitarian report has shed light on the tragic toll of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Since the start of hostilities on the 7th of October, the report revealed that an estimated 4,830 Palestinian children have lost their lives. The report, which cites data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, also indicated that the total number of Palestinian deaths stands at 8,309, encompassing 3,747 children and 2,062 women. An additional 21,048 individuals have sustained injuries as a result of the ongoing conflict. An alarming statistic within the report is the approximately 1,950 individuals, including 1,050 children, who are reported as missing, either trapped under the rubble of collapsed structures or having met a tragic end. Significantly, the Gaza Ministry of Health’s data underscored that more than two-thirds of these deaths occurred within the confines of their own homes, emphasizing the severe humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region. In a related context, the report highlighted the dire situation in the West Bank. Between the afternoon of October 29 and 9 p.m. yesterday, Israeli forces claimed the lives of six Palestinians, with an additional Palestinian killed by an Israeli settler. This brings the total number of Palestinians who have lost their lives due to Israeli forces or settlers since October 7 to a distressing 121, of whom 33 are children.

Source: Jordan News Agency

FM, Bahraini counterpart talk intensifying efforts to halt war on Gaza

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, on Wednesday in a phone conversation, with his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, discussed ways to end the war on Gaza. The two top diplomats also discussed halting the serious deterioration and the suffering the war on Gaza produces and the necessity of adhering to the rules of international humanitarian law and ensuring the protection of civilians. The two ministers stressed the need to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Source: Jordan News Agency

FM, Qatari counterpart discuss ways to avoid spreading war on Gaza, ending it

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, called in a phone call on Wednesday for ensuring that the war on Gaza does not expand. Safadi and Sheikh Mohammad also called for ending the war on Gaza and its suffering in order to protect the lives of civilians and respect international law and common human values. The phone call is part of the ongoing coordination and consultation regarding ways to intensify efforts aimed at stopping the raging war on Gaza. The two ministers underlined the need to ensure the flow of humanitarian food and medical aid to the besieged strip.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Ministers of Gov’t Comm., Political Affairs meet JPA president, council members

Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Haditha Jamal Khraisha and Minister of Government Communications and government spkoesperson, Muhannad Mubaidin, on Monday evening met with President of the Jordan Press Association (JPA) and its council members. Mubaidin underlined the government’s keenness to enhance partnership and cooperation with the JPA, in a way that contributes to addressing challenges facing media outlets, both public and private, lauding JPA’s role in organizing the journalism profession as “the Jordanian Press House and an umbrella for journalists.” He pointed out the importance of the media’s role in conveying the state’s mission and defending it to the world, in addition to performing its oversight role by highlighting shortcomings and deficiencies in the performance of some institutions, in addition to its development and awareness roles on many issues and topics of concern to society. Mubaidin commended media institutions’ national role in their coverage of the war on the Gaza Strip and conveying it to citizens. He lauded their efforts in conveying the angry voice of Jordanians towards the war on the Strip, which citizens expressed in the marches carried out in most of the Kingdom’s governorates. For his part, Khraisha said that the media is an important and essential partner for the government in advocating and supporting the political modernization system, by spreading awareness and education about laws of political parties and elections, and conveying media mission about the importance of enhancing citizens’ participation in the political process and involvement in parties, especially youth and women. He pointed out to the solid Jordanian position towards the Palestinian cause under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah and its emphasis on the necessity of stopping the war on Gaza, preventing the displacement of civilians from the Gaza Strip, and delivering humanitarian, medical and relief aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, in addition to the King’s directive to the government to allocate a JD3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which is suffering from a financial crisis, to continue to play its role towards the people in Gaza. Khraisha underlined the importance of citizens’ right to express their patriotic feelings regarding the war on Gaza, while emphasizing the necessity of adhering to the law and preserving public and private property. JPA President, Rakan Al-Saayda, said that His Majesty’s position is solid and strong towards the war on Gaza, stressing the importance of supporting this position in the Arab world and building on it in order to stop the Israeli plans aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause. Al-Saayda added that media outlets supports the state’s firm position on the Palestinian cause and the war on Gaza, and expressed it explicitly through press releases and solidarity stands with the people in the Gaza Strip that the JPA carried out on Sunday at several media institutions, in addition to seminars hosted by the JPA to talk about the war on Gaza and the Arab-Israeli conflict. During the meeting, the JPA president highlighted challenges and issues facing journalists, including the implementation of the career path for employees of the Jordan News Agency (Petra) and the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV), activating the National Fund to Support Journalism, and the necessity of building a network of relations with external media outlets with the aim of conveying the mission of the Jordanian state abroad. JPA vice president Jamal Shteiwi stressed the importance of the government’s support for the public media and improving the conditions of its workers, given the great role it plays in conveying the state’s mission to the world, especially in the crises and circumstances that the Kingdom is going through. Members of the JPA council highlighted a number of issues and observations, including preserving the living rights of workers in media institutions, including public media institutions, in addition to enhancing the training and qualification of journalists and the necessity of having advanced foreign language departments in media institutions to convey speeches of His Majesty the King and the state’s mission to the countries of the world. The meeting was held in the JPA building and attended by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Government Communications, Zaid Nawaysa

Source: Jordan News Agency

‘ISLAMIC RESISTANCE’ EULOGIZES MARTYRS ALI AND HUSSEIN ABDULAAL

The “Islamic Resistance” eulogized, in a statement on Monday, the martyrdom of Ali Kamal Abdulaal, aka Jihad, and Hussein Hassan Abdulaal, aka Bilal, from the southern town of Halta. According to the statement, the two martyrs, who fell while on Jihad duty, belonged to the “Lebanese Brigade of Resistance Israeli Occupation.”

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Abdullah bin Zayed, Romanian FM review latest regional developments

ABU DHABI, 20th October, 2023 (WAM) H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussed during a phone call with Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu, the latest developments in the region and ways to establish safe corridors to deliver humanitarian assistance to civilians. The two top diplomats while discussing the ongoing regional and international efforts to contain the situation and avert further escalation, underscored the need for intensifying efforts to protect all civilians and end extremism, escalation and violence in the region. They also reviewed a host of issues of mutual interest. Tariq Al Fahaam

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)