Jordan Stresses Two-State Solution to Resolve Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

A handout image made available by the Jordanian Armed Forces Media office on November 6, 2023, shows humanitarian aid being loaded into a Jordanian military cargo plane. (Photo by Jordanian Armed Forces / AFP)
A handout image made available by the Jordanian Armed Forces Media office on November 6, 2023, shows humanitarian aid being loaded into a Jordanian military cargo plane. (Photo by Jordanian Armed Forces / AFP)
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Jordan Stresses Two-State Solution to Resolve Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

A handout image made available by the Jordanian Armed Forces Media office on November 6, 2023, shows humanitarian aid being loaded into a Jordanian military cargo plane. (Photo by Jordanian Armed Forces / AFP)
A handout image made available by the Jordanian Armed Forces Media office on November 6, 2023, shows humanitarian aid being loaded into a Jordanian military cargo plane. (Photo by Jordanian Armed Forces / AFP)

Jordan's air force air-dropped urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza early on Monday, while King Abdullah headed to Brussels where he met Belgian, EU and NATO officials to discuss the latest developments in the Palestinian enclave.

Meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, King Abdullah called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the protection of civilians.

“Everyone today is paying the price of the absence of a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” he said.

He added that dealing with the day after the war must begin with addressing the root cause of the conflict on the basis of the two-state solution.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh held a meeting with speaker of the Lower House, members and heads of parliamentary committees and blocs to brief them about the country’s efforts to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and ensure the delivery of aid to the people.

He condemned the Israeli attack and the “international silence” over its violations and atrocities against the Palestinian people.

“The immunity given for Israel and the silence on violations against civilians are a double standard,” the PM said, adding that any attempt to displace the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank is a red line.

Earlier, a royal air force plane dropped urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza whose supplies were about to run out due to the delay in delivering aid through the Rafah crossing, Jordan's state news agency said citing a Jordanian military source.

The decision to send the plane was taken on Saturday during a meeting between military, political and security officials, added the source.

The US was informed of the plan during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the kingdom where he met King Abdullah, it continued.

It revealed that more flights will be planned in the near future to deliver more aid to those in need.

Jordan has also completed preparations to set up a field hospital in Rafah near the border with Gaza.



UN Begins Polio Vaccination in Gaza, as Fighting Rages

 Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Begins Polio Vaccination in Gaza, as Fighting Rages

 Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)

The United Nations, in collaboration with Palestinian health authorities, began to vaccinate 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with Israel and Hamas agreeing to brief pauses in their 11-month war to allow the campaign to go ahead.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

The campaign began on Sunday in areas of central Gaza, and will move to other areas in coming days. Fighting will pause for at least eight hours on three consecutive days.

The WHO said the pauses will likely need to extend to a fourth day and the first round of vaccinations will take just under two weeks.

'Complex’ campaign

"This is the first few hours of the first phase of a massive campaign, one of the most complex in the world," said Juliette Touma, communications director of UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency.

"Today is test time for parties to the conflict to respect these area pauses to allow the UNRWA teams and other medical workers to reach children with these very precious two drops. It’s a race against time," Touma told Reuters.

Israel and Hamas, who have so far failed to conclude a deal that would end the war, said they would cooperate to allow the campaign to succeed.

WHO officials say at least 90% of the children need to be vaccinated twice with four weeks between doses for the campaign to succeed, but it faces huge challenges in Gaza, which has been largely destroyed by the war.

"Children continue to be exposed, it knows no borders, checkpoints or lines of fighting. Every child must be vaccinated in Gaza and Israel to curb the risks of this vicious disease spreading," said Touma.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to battle Hamas-led fighters in several areas across the Palestinian enclave. Residents said Israeli army troops blew up several houses in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, while tanks continued to operate in the northern Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun.

On Sunday, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were apparently killed not long before Israeli troops reached them, the military said.

The war was triggered after Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 stormed into southern Israel killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages by Israeli tallies.

Since then, at least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Gaza, the enclave's health ministry says.