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AMMAN - His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday called on the international community to take a firm stand against Israel’s unilateral measures in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the provocative actions aimed at changing the identity of Jerusalem and threatening its holy sites.

During a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the Monarch warned of the serious nature of Israel’s provocations in the holy city, saying that Jerusalem is a red line and action must be taken against attempts to change the facts on the ground by emptying the city of its Muslim and Christian Arab inhabitants.

King Abdullah expressed appreciation for the EU’s position towards ongoing efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution as well as towards Israel’s policies, which undermine efforts to achieve peace and threaten to plunge the region into a new spiral of conflict and violence, according to a Royal Court statement.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of Europe’s role in the process of reaching a peaceful resolution to the decades-long struggle within a comprehensive regional context, resulting in the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh held talks with the EU official, which focused mainly on the latest developments in the region and the occupied territories as well as on Jordanian-European relations.

In a press conference following their meeting, Judeh stressed Jordan’s condemnation and unequivocal rejection of Israel’s illegal and provocative actions in the occupied Palestinian territories in general and in East Jerusalem in particular, which aim at changing the identity of the holy city, including excavations around and beneath Muslim and Christian sites, house demolitions, evictions of Palestinian residents and the construction of new settlement units.

He added that Jordan is in constant contact with all parties involved in the peace process, including the permanent members of UN Security Council and member states of the Mideast Quartet, urging them to take action to stop the “unacceptable” and “provocative” Israeli measures in the occupied Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem.

“We call on the international community and the Quartet, which will meet in Moscow soon, to bear the responsibility to stand firmly against such actions in order to ensure they stop immediately and do not happen again in any manner whatsoever,” Judeh said, adding that these measures contradict with the spirit of peace, preempt negotiations and undermine confidence, which is desperately needed for negotiations to succeed.

He warned that the continuation or repetition of such actions could lead to serious consequences that would threaten regional stability and undermine international peace and security.

Judeh added that talks also included a number of regional issues, as well as relations between Jordan and the European Union and ways to strengthen and expand the scope of joint cooperation, expressing gratitude to the EU for its support for Jordan’s push to obtain advanced status with the EU.

For her part, Ashton said her talks with Judeh covered the “distinguished” relations between Jordan and the EU and ways to strengthen and expand the scope of bilateral cooperation.

Reiterating the EU’s support for Jordan’s request to obtain advanced status as soon as possible, Ashton said: “We have the resources and opportunity… to work together and strengthen the existing partnership with Jordan in various fields.”

She also expressed the EU’s appreciation for “Jordan’s important and vital role in… efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region”.

With regards to the peace process, Ashton said she would convey many of the ideas and proposals discussed during her visit to the region to the Quartet, which is set to meet in Moscow on Friday, with the aim of bringing together the Palestinians and Israelis at the negotiating table.

Ashton said she is working intensively to find solutions to difficult issues obstructing the resumption of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis in order to realise a resolution to the conflict that leads to two states living side by side in peace and security.

Israel and the Palestinians, meanwhile, accused each other of hampering the already hobbled peace process.

Arab League chief Amr Musa said on Wednesday during a visit to Beirut that a renewal of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks would be “pointless” in the present climate.

“Negotiations with Israel at this time are pointless,” Musa told reporters in Beirut, adding that Arab states would address the rising tension in Jerusalem at their March 27-28 summit in Libya.
 

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