Jordan Warns Against Strife, ‘Suspicious Agendas’

Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)
Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)
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Jordan Warns Against Strife, ‘Suspicious Agendas’

Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)
Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)

Jordan has warned against attempts to distort its position on the war in Gaza, saying that it was confronting a “suspicious movements to sow discord and chaos in the country.”

In remarks on Thursday, the head of the Jordanian Senate, Faisal Al-Fayez, said: “Jordanians will not accept that demonstrations and protests turn into platforms for sowing discord and an arena for implementing the agendas of others.”

His statements came in response to slogans launched by protesters in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy in Amman, criticizing Jordanian efforts to support Gaza.

“These demonstrations will not turn into suspicious movements to sow discord and chaos,” Al-Fayez said. “We will confront every hand that seeks to tamper with Jordan’s security.”

The authorities accuse the unlicensed Muslim Brotherhood in the country of being behind the sit-ins that began during the past few days.

In this context, and in response to a question about criticism of the Hamas movement for calling on the people of Jordan to support the Palestinians, Osama Hamdan, a leader in Hamas, said: “The movement has been calling on all the people of our nation and all the free people of the world to stand by the Palestinians.”

In a press conference in Beirut, Hamdan noted that the Hamas movement was calling “on the entire nation and all the free people of the world to escalate their pressure on the American administration and Israel.”

He also stressed that no progress has been made so far in negotiations with Israel over a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange agreement.

“The Israeli position is intransigent, and the negotiations are taking place in a vicious circle... [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government are trying to buy time and show a false interest in negotiating,” he stated.



Humanitarian Corridors and Pauses Needed in Sudan, US Envoy Says

The US special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, attends a press briefing on the sidelines of Sudan peace talks at the US Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, August 23, 2024. (Reuters)
The US special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, attends a press briefing on the sidelines of Sudan peace talks at the US Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, August 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Humanitarian Corridors and Pauses Needed in Sudan, US Envoy Says

The US special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, attends a press briefing on the sidelines of Sudan peace talks at the US Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, August 23, 2024. (Reuters)
The US special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, attends a press briefing on the sidelines of Sudan peace talks at the US Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, August 23, 2024. (Reuters)

More and faster aid deliveries are needed in Sudan, the US special envoy to the war-weary country told Reuters, ideally through the implementation of humanitarian corridors and pauses as discussed with government leaders in a visit on Sunday.

"We are pleased that there has been some progress, but we need to see much more," Tom Perriello said in an interview, following the approval of flights to hunger-striken South Kordofan and the extension of permission to use the Adre border crossing into Darfur by the Sudanese army.

The army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a 19-month conflict that has caused acute hunger and disease across the country. Both sides are accused of impeding aid deliveries, the RSF by looting and the army by bureaucratic delays.

Proposals including humanitarian corridors and pauses were shared with Sudanese sovereign council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and others on a trip to Port Sudan on Monday and progress was made, Perriello said.

In October, the sovereign council approved flights into Kadugli to provide assistance to rebel-held regions of South Kordofan state, where people have gone hungry without aid deliveries, through an agreement with the South Sudanese government.

"I think if we can see that same attitude on the ability to get corridors into places like Khartoum, Omdurman, El-Gezira, al-Fasher, Sennar I think we could get a lot of life-saving aid to some of the most desperate Sudanese," he said.

In a speech on Tuesday, however, Burhan cast doubt on the speed of progress.

"Our vision is clear to all those who want to help us. The war must stop first and the rebels must leave the areas they have occupied," he said.

"Once civilian life is back, relief can return and be available to all Sudanese," he added.

US-led efforts to bring the army and RSF to the negotiating table have not succeeded so far.

"We do remain in active lines of communication with RSF leadership on the negotiations around both humanitarian access and peace," Perriello said.