Special Lower House session deplores Israeli aggression against Palestinians

AMMAN — The Lower House is following up with full concern and attention to the tragic developments and the “barbaric attacks” perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians in Jerusalem, Gaza and other cities in the West Bank and historical Palestine, Speaker Abdulmunim Oddat said on Monday.

During a special session, which was dedicated to discuss the Israeli aggression on Palestinians and the holy sites, Oddat said that the Chamber Speakership and the parliamentary Palestine committee embarked on a wide communication campaign with several Arab and Islamic organisations to shed light on these dangerous developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In the presence of Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Bisher Al Khasawneh and Cabinet members, the speaker said that the House has achieved important steps in shedding light on crimes perpetrated by the “Zionist entity” and the legal and moral responsibility of the international community to bring the “entity” to commit to international laws and hold it responsible.

The Chamber also urged the world to condemn Israel’s racist behaviour, inhumane practices and its continuous threats to international peace through refusing to recognise the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including those related to establishing an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said. 

Oddat also noted that His Majesty King Abdullah’s contacts highlighted the importance of resolving the core of the conflict and exerting efforts to bring an end to the attacks on Gaza, especially that the current events are the direct result of Israeli malpractices.

Speaking during the special Lower House session, Khasawneh reaffirmed Jordan’s solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli aggression on Palestinians and the holy sites.

The prime minister said that the Kingdom has several legal and diplomatic options at its disposal to protect Palestinians and stop the Israeli attacks, stressing that Israel alone bears the full responsibility for these attacks. 

The premier stressed that Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, will always defend the Palestinian cause and Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Petra reported.

He expressed the government’s pride in the Jordanian people who organised sit-ins to deplore the Israeli attacks, noting that the Kingdom is the closest state to the Palestinian people.

Khasawneh also said that Jordan had provided Palestinians with all the documents that allow the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to stand against Israeli plots seeking to change the demography of Jerusalem.

Also speaking during the session, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that Jordan has always been the closest to the “Palestinian brothers” and has always supported their cause and defended Al Aqsa Mosque and Islamic and Christian holy sites, according to Petra.

Safadi added that the Kingdom devotes all its capabilities to end the Israeli occupation and fulfill the legitimate Palestinian right of establishing an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the Palestinian national soil in accordance with the international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Efforts towards realising the Palestinian rights have always been led by His Majesty even before the start of this escalation, the minister said, noting that Jordan always seeks to realise these legitimate rights without which, the entire region will never enjoy security, stability and peace.

He explained that Jordan has one message and that is urging Israel to stop all illegal and inhumane practices against the Palestinians that undermine the efforts made to reach a just and comprehensive peace.

The deputy prime minister said that Jordanian efforts are ongoing to bring an end to the Israeli aggression, referring to the Kingdom’s participation in the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

As for the Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, Safadi stressed that its total area is a sole place of worship for Muslims alone and Jordan will never accept otherwise, and that the Kingdom is in constant engagement to protect this historical fact and maintain the historical and legal status quo.

He also urged the international community to immediately take action not only to stop the current aggression but also to end the core of the conflict according to criteria that meet the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The Lower House expressed appreciation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s standing by the Palestinian rights and his insistence on establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Oddat said that a memorandum, signed by all House members, calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Jordan and the withdrawal of the Jordanian ambassador in Tel Aviv, is now in the hands of the Cabinet.

He pointed out that 103 deputies spoke over the course of six consecutive hours about the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, once again supporting Palestinians in facing Israeli attacks and all forms of violations against the holy sites and the forced displacement of Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

The deputies demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Amman, the withdrawal of the Jordanian ambassador from Tel Aviv, the cancellation of the gas deal with Israel and the review of the Wadi Araba Treaty.

They called on the international community to do justice to the Palestinian people and not to be aligned with the practices of the occupation force and its aggression against defenseless Palestinians as well as the Islamic and Christian holy sites. They also demanded stopping the targeting of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and all forms of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of the people of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

Deputies also referred to the “terrorist” crimes committed against Palestinians and the use of internationally prohibited weapons in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds dead and injured, many of whom are children.