Khasawneh Says 'Absence Of A Political Horizon' For Palestinians Creates Regional Violence

(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency)

Amman, November 21 (Petra) -- Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said Tuesday that Jordan has warned that the "absence of a Political horizon" to establish a Palestinian state based on the two-state solution would keep the region in successive and escalating cycles of violence.
Khasawneh said in an interview on Al Arabiya that failing to realise a political solution "will move us from a spiral of violence to a worse spike of violence, and from a period of cessation of fighting to a worse increase of violence, and then to a bigger explosion... the evidence is what we saw in this recent war on Gaza."
He said His Majesty King Abdullah's efforts are focused on stopping the "brutal" Israeli war on Gaza that killed more than 13,000 Palestinian civilians, including 5,000 children.
"Ironically, today is World Child Protection Day, during which we lost 5,000 Gazan children during 40 days of aggression that does not discriminate between children, women, older people and civilians," he lamented.
Khasawneh added that the Arab "moral position" was expressed in the extraordinary resolution of the Arab League that affirmed that the Arab countries condemn the targeting of civilians, noting that the Arab position is a "moral position" because it was based on condemning the targeting of civilians regardless of their nationality, race, religion or age.
"The Palestinian blood, the Palestinian children and Palestinian civilians, their lives are no less than the life of any other civilian or the life of any other child. This is the position on which the movement of His Majesty King Abdullah II was based from the first moment of the aggression," he explained.
Khasawneh said the King focused on "appealing to the global conscience" with a legal discourse based on the indivisibility of international law, international humanitarian law and the rules of war on protecting civilians and civil and health institutions.
The Premier added: "It is as if there is immunity granted to Israel so that it does not abide by and violate the system of laws regulating military operations and war, which are expressed in international treaties and agreements," noting that the Israeli forces targeted hospitals and health workers during the Israeli war on Gaza.
Khasawneh said: "If any country in the world has committed any of these violations, the world would have taken action to confront these violations, but when this matter came down to Israeli actions, it was as if Israel had immunity from the application of international law and international humanitarian law."
Khasawneh added, "We have reached a development in the efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah II, which led to a gradual change in the position of many countries and permanent members of the Security Council, leading to adopting a UN Security Council resolution for a humanitarian truce, a prisoner swap and delivering urgent and emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"The absence of a political solution will lead us to nothing but the absurdity of repeating what is currently happening in Gaza, in a worse way, after years of stalemate and the absence of this path and political horizon, for which Israel bears great responsibility, whether in weakening its strategic partner represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian National Authority."
Khasawneh stressed the need to avoid escalation in the occupied West Bank, adding that Jewish settler violence against Palestinians and Israeli violations of Islamic and Christian sanctities constitute "a red line for Jordan."
He warned that an Israeli forced displacement of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank would be a "declaration of war against Jordan because it constitutes a material violation of the peace agreement."
Khasawneh said in case of an Israeli declaration of war, the Kingdom would use all means possible to prevent a mass expulsion of West Banker Palestinians into Jordan, which, in case it happens, would mean ending the Palestinian national cause and harm Jordan's national security.
Khasawneh said, "Jordan has followed a gradual methodology from day one with the unfolding events in Gaza, and this gradual methodology aimed to allow Jordan to stop the killing machine and stop the war that the Israeli occupation is waging against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."
Khasawneh added, "If Jordan reaches the point where there is an evident Israeli breach of the Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement, then we will speak seriously that this breach is a breach that opens the door wide for Jordan to multiple possibilities that we will talk about at the time.
"As for Jordan's commitment to peace, it is a strategic commitment, and today, it allows for Jordan to move on a moral and legal basis through which Jordan can accomplish a lot."
Regarding Jordan's agreement with Israel on water and the Kingdom's options, Khasawneh said, "Jordan is one of the most water-poor countries, and Jordan is finalising the requirements for floating tenders related to the national water carrier from the Gulf of Aqaba to northern Jordan.
"On December 4, we hope to reach A stage in which we can open bids to implement this national project that will cover Jordan's water needs at least until 2043."

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