Chicago – October 26, 2024
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has called for international pressure to stop Israel from carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, as he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London.
Safadi told his US counterpart on Friday that “the humanitarian situation is really difficult when we look at northern Gaza, where we do see ethnic cleansing taking place, and that has got to stop.”
Blinken stopped in London at the end of his 11th round of Middle East shuttle diplomacy, where he visited Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The Middle East is “getting worse, unfortunately, every time we meet,” Safadi said.
“Not for lack of us trying, but because we do have an Israeli government that is not listening to anybody, and that has got to stop,” he said.
Blinken also vowed Friday to work with “real urgency” for a diplomatic resolution to end Israel’s offensive in Lebanon but said it was first critical to reach an understanding on disarmament of the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah.
Shortly after meeting Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati in London, Blinken pleaded for protection of civilians but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
“We have a sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, such that there can be real security along the border between Israel and Lebanon,” Blinken told reporters, saying he was “intensely engaged”.
