2023-12-22 10:11:37
President Emmanuel Macron and the King of Jordan, Abdallah II, at Aqaba airport on December 21, 2023. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
Gestures to overcome the tensions generated by the war between Israel and Hamas. King Abdullah II of Jordan came in person on Thursday December 21 to welcome Emmanuel Macron at Aqaba airport, in the south of the country. After a quick interview in a lounge a stone’s throw from the tarmac, the sovereign and the head of state joined hand in hand the car that Abdallah himself drove to head towards the royal residence, where they had lunch.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Israel-Hamas war: Emmanuel Macron’s big diplomatic gap
On October 25, the first meeting between the two leaders after the start of the Gaza war was very cold. The day before, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of state had proposed the creation of an international coalition to fight against Hamas, modeled on that set up against the Islamic State (IS) organization. . If the Hashemite kingdom is associated with the fight against the former caliphate, it cannot support a similar approach against Hamas, whose popularity is strong within its population and the large Palestinian community established in the country.
Since the start of the Gaza war, the king has continued to demand a “immediate ceasefire”as he insisted during his interview with his French guest, who is not there yet. “Continued Israeli aggression in Gaza will have disastrous repercussions for the entire region”warned the sovereign during their conversation, repeating his “complete rejection of forced population displacement” within the Gaza Strip. Abdullah II, however, emphasized “the importance of the role of France and the European Union in supporting the two-state solution” and called for “intensified efforts” in this sense.
“Joint efforts”
Faced with the violence of Israel’s response following the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, the king denounced on October 21 the « silence international » to castigate Western support for the Netanyahu government: “Anywhere else the world would have condemned the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the deliberate deprivation of the population of food, water, electricity and basic needs, and the perpetrator would certainly have been immediately held responsible », he said during an emergency meeting in Cairo. Since then, Israeli strikes have left more than 20,000 dead, mostly women and children, according to the enclave administration.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza deprived of water, food and medicine
Anxious to restore trust with Arab capitals, the Elysée insists on humanitarian cooperation, in order to come to the aid of the civilian populations of the Gaza Strip. “Faced with the absolute humanitarian emergency, we are sparing no effort in our joint efforts to obtain a ceasefire as soon as possible and respond to the urgent needs of the populations”, indicated Emmanuel Macron, after the interview. France supports the creation of a humanitarian platform in Jordan. A first French flight with eleven tonnes of humanitarian cargo arrived in Amman on Thursday evening. Another should follow in the coming days.
You have 20% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
#Jordan #desire #appeasement #Macron #King #Abdullah