Jordan’s King Rejects Any Israeli Plan to Occupy Parts of Gaza

 A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)
A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Jordan’s King Rejects Any Israeli Plan to Occupy Parts of Gaza

 A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)
A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Jordan's King Abdullah rejected any plans by Israel to occupy parts of Gaza or to create security zones within the enclave, saying the root cause of the crisis was Israel's denial of Palestinians' "legitimate rights", state media said on Monday.

In comments he made at the royal palace, the king was quoted as telling senior politicians that there could be "no military or security solution" to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

He said the war-ravaged enclave of Gaza should not be severed by Israel from the other Palestinian Territories.

The monarch told the politicians that the "root of the crisis was Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its denial of Palestinians legitimate rights".

"The solution starts from there and any other path is doomed to failure and more of a cycle of violence and destruction," he said.

King Abdullah said he had long warned about Israeli violations in the West Bank, with which Jordan shares a border, and Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian civilians could "expand the conflict and push the region "to the abyss".

Jordan is home to a large population of Palestinian refugees and their descendants who fear that Israel could expel Palestinians en masse from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian inhabitants have surged since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

King Abdullah said this month the only path to permanent peace was revived negotiations on an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

US-brokered negotiations towards a "two-state solution" of Palestinian independence in Israeli-occupied territories have been frozen for almost a decade.



France: Window of Opportunity Open for Lebanon Ceasefire

A photo taken from the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows smoke billowing following an Israeli airstrike which targeted the area of  al-Hosh on the outskirts of Tyre, on November 19, 2024. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows smoke billowing following an Israeli airstrike which targeted the area of al-Hosh on the outskirts of Tyre, on November 19, 2024. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
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France: Window of Opportunity Open for Lebanon Ceasefire

A photo taken from the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows smoke billowing following an Israeli airstrike which targeted the area of  al-Hosh on the outskirts of Tyre, on November 19, 2024. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows smoke billowing following an Israeli airstrike which targeted the area of al-Hosh on the outskirts of Tyre, on November 19, 2024. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)

France's foreign minister said on Wednesday that US-led efforts for a truce between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon had created the chance for a lasting ceasefire.

"There is a window of opportunity that's opening for a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon that would allow the return of those displaced, ensure the sovereignty of Lebanon and the security of Israel," Jean-Noel Barrot told Europe 1 radio.

"I call on all sides with whom we are in close contact to seize this window."

Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration’s pointman on Israel and Lebanon, arrived in Beirut on Tuesday as Hezbollah’s allies in the Lebanese government said the group had responded positively to a ceasefire proposal, which would entail both its fighters and Israeli ground forces withdrawing from a UN buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

Hochstein said he held “very constructive talks” with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah who is mediating on the group’s behalf.

Berri said the "situation is good in principle,” although some technical details remain unresolved. The Lebanese side was waiting to hear the results of Hochstein's talks with Israeli officials, he told Asharq al-Awsat.