“Israel Is Taking 2.3 Million Palestinian Hostages In The War”: Jordan Deputy Prime Minister
Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, slammed the Israel authority on Saturday and said that, Israel had taken 2.3 million Palestinians hostage in the ongoing war by denying them food and water. “Yes, to the release of hostages but NO to linking humanitarian pauses to the release of hostages”, he added. The minister was addressing the first plenary session of IISS Manama Dialogue 2023 in Bahrain.
Using strong phrases, Mr Safadi condemned the unbearable plight of Palestinians who were displaced during the war amid the continuing Israeli strikes and increasing shortage of fuel, food, and water. “Israel is taking 2.3 million Palestinians hostage in the process, by denying them food and water, and by this war”, said Mr Safadi addressing the event, which was attended by ministers and policymakers from across the Middle East and beyond.
IISS Manama Dialogue took place between 18 to 20 of November and is a vital platform to discuss Middle East region’s security challenges. “1.65 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced, in percentage terms that”s about displacing 275 million Americans!”, said Mr Safadi in the meeting. According to him, Jordan had been warning the political situation of the region for so long and was arguing on the absence of political horizon.
DPM & FM @AymanHsafadi in the 1st plenary at #IISSMD23, today:
– Israel is taking 2.3 million Palestinians hostage in the process, by denying them food and water, and by this war.
– Yes to the release of hostages but NO to linking humanitarian pauses to the release of hostages.… pic.twitter.com/Pxa7h22eOQ— وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين الأردنية (@ForeignMinistry) November 18, 2023
He asked “Who”s talking about any regional project at this point? Who”s talking about integration?”, because as of now the most important to discuss is war. He criticised the Israeli attitude that the military are warning people that they would be killed in South but saved in north. “There is nothing that can justify this brutality”, he added.
According to him, the American quarter in Jerusalem cannot be accused of being a Hamas hideout. “It is being threatened now by settlers trying to destroying it with the police watching and facilitating and settlers are attacking Armenians with attack dogs day in day out, is this a war against Hamas?”. Mr Safadi also expressed his exclamation about the privilege Israel holding among the world nations to violate the humanitarian law in a brutal manner. If any other nation could have been done this, it would face sanctions imposed on it “from every corner of the world now”.
It’s getting three months to the Israel-Hamas war and the besieged Gaza Strip is more like a graveyard now. At least 70 percent people in the Strip had no access to clean water because of the fuel deficiency. The Strip was already facing a severe black out – a complete shutdown of communication infrastructure and hindered efforts of humanitarian aid supplies.
Palestinians in the Southern Gaza got evacuation notices on Thursday, in expectation of the possible expansion of Israel’s ground invasion on South. As of now, most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are crowded into the South, including those who fled already from the North considering the previous evacuation order by the Israel defence forces.
