Jordan’s King Reaffirms Full Support to the Palestinians

Jordan’s King Abdullah II meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Reuters)
Jordan’s King Abdullah II meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Reuters)
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Jordan’s King Reaffirms Full Support to the Palestinians

Jordan’s King Abdullah II meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Reuters)
Jordan’s King Abdullah II meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Reuters)

Jordan’s King Abdullah II affirmed his country’s full support to the Palestinians’ legitimate and just rights.

The Jordanian monarch, during his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his accompanying delegation at the Husseiniya Palace in Amman on Wednesday, stressed that the Palestinian issue was at the core of the conflict in the region and a top priority of his country’s foreign policy, according to a statement by the Royal Jordanian Court.

He also underlined Jordan’s continued efforts in coordination with the various concerned parties, to re-launch negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis on the basis of the two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative and the resolutions of international legitimacy, with the aim to achieve the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In this context, King Abdullah pointed out that his recent meetings with the US president, administration and congressional committees have focused on Jordan’s steadfast position on the Palestinian issue, which affirmed that there could be no peace and stability in the region without a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution .

He also emphasized the importance of working with the US administration and the international community to find political horizons that serve Palestinian interests and the rights of the Palestinian people.

For his part, the Palestinian president expressed his appreciation for Jordan’s historical and steadfast positions on the Palestinian cause, praising the great efforts made by King Abdullah II in defending the rights of the Palestinian people in all international forums.

Addressing journalists following the meeting, Abbas said that his discussions with the Jordanian monarch came within the framework of ongoing coordination between the two sides on latest developments in the Palestinian issue and means to develop bilateral relations.

He noted that a meeting would be held within few days between the prime ministers of the two countries to discuss economic and social issues.



Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.