Jordanian, Palestinian Officials Discuss Boosting Cooperation

Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz. (AFP)
Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz. (AFP)
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Jordanian, Palestinian Officials Discuss Boosting Cooperation

Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz. (AFP)
Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz. (AFP)

Jordan’s Prime Minister Omar Razzaz stressed that his country’s position towards the Palestinian cause will never change, voicing his support to the two-state solution, which should lead to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He made his remarks during a meeting on Monday with his Palestinian counterpart Rami Hamdallah.

He reiterated that Jordan's position on the Palestinian issue, Jerusalem and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is clear and consistent with the Palestinian stance, stressing that Palestine remains at the top of Amman’s foreign diplomacy agenda.

He pointed out during the talks, which were attended by a number of Palestinian and Jordanian ministers and officials, the importance of bilateral coordination at the highest levels under the directives of King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on all political, economic and social issues.

Razzaz pointed out that Jordan looks forward to further cooperation and coordination to increase bilateral trade between the two sides.

“We hope that the trade volume would reach $500 million,” he said.

He stressed the “historic and solid” Jordanian-Palestinian relations, saying that “we are one people in two states."

Furthermore, he said that his government is working, through the relevant ministries and their counterparts in the Palestinian territories, to come up with solutions to further develop economic and trade relations and create commercial and investment opportunities for the Jordanian and Palestinian business community.

Amman wants to further facilitate container traffic to and from the Palestinian territories, Razzaz continued, adding that work is under way to upgrade the King Hussein Bridge. This will bolster trade exchange and facilitate the entry of Palestinian goods to Jordan.

Hamdallah, for his part, commended Jordan’s support for the Palestinians, especially its stance on the so-called “deal of the century,” and their right to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.



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.