King Abdullah II of Jordan, French President Emmanuel Macron and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post, in which they called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
“The war in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian suffering it is causing must end now. Violence, terror and war cannot bring peace to the Middle East. The two-state solution will. It is the only credible path to guaranteeing peace and security for all, and ensuring that neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis ever have to relive the horrors that have befallen them since the Oct. 7 attack,” wrote the three leaders.
They cited the UN Security Council resolution passed on March 25 which calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said it “is a critical step that must be fully implemented without further delay.”
“We emphasize the urgency of implementing the Security Council’s demand for the immediate release of all hostages and reaffirm our support for the negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States that address a ceasefire, as well as the hostages and detainees,” the three leaders wrote.
They also warned against an Israeli operation in the Gazan city of Rafah, saying such an operation would have “dangerous consequences”.
“Consistent with international law, Israel is under an obligation to ensure the flow of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, a responsibility it has not fulfilled. We reiterate the Security Council’s demand to lift barriers to humanitarian assistance and for Israel to immediately facilitate humanitarian assistance through all crossing points, including in the North of the Gaza Strip and through a direct land corridor from Jordan, as well as by sea,” they added.
The three leaders also said they are “determined to continue stepping up our efforts to meet the humanitarian, medical and health needs of the civilian population of Gaza, in close coordination with the UN system and regional partners.”
The op-ed also stressed the three countries’ commitment “to effectively bring about the two-state solution. The establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution, in accordance with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to live side by side in peace and security with Israel, is the only way to achieve true peace. The Security Council must play a role in decisively reopening this horizon for peace.”