Israel-Gaza war: Egypt, Jordan condemn ‘collective punishment’ in Gaza
- The two nations ‘affirmed their unified position rejecting policy of collective punishment in siege, starvation or displacement’ of Palestinians
- Their leaders, meeting after talks with the US and Palestinian presidents were cancelled by Jordan, said the region could plunge into ‘catastrophe’
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II condemned the “collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza as they met in Cairo for talks on the Israel-Gaza war.
Ahead of the meeting, the Jordanian royal court said Sisi and King Abdullah would “discuss means to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza”, a day after Jordan snubbed Biden by cancelling a four-way summit with Sisi and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
In separate statements issued later, the Egyptian presidency and Jordan’s royal court said the two leaders “affirmed their unified position rejecting the policy of collective punishment in the siege, starvation or displacement” of Palestinians.
Egypt and Jordan were the first Arab states to normalise relations with Israel, in 1979 and 1994 respectively, and have since been key mediators between Israeli and Palestinian officials.
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Asia’s Muslim-majority countries rally in support of Palestinians as Middle East conflict mounts
Israel has been carrying out air and artillery strikes on Gaza since Hamas gunmen unleashed a massive attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people, mainly civilians.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry says the Israeli strikes have killed over 3,500 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, also mostly civilians.
