2024-02-01T18:22:51+00:00
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/ Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Yarbro Leaf announced that her country is seeking to find a “solution” to the Palestinian issue through a common understanding with Arab and regional countries and to end the current conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. She also indicated that the attack on her country’s soldiers in Jordan is a proxy war supported by Iran, and that the US President will decide the nature of the response. She confirmed that the Houthi attacks affect the food security of some countries in the region.
“I traveled with the US Secretary of State to Israel and we spoke with partners in the region, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, and Turkey. The Secretary’s goal was to find a solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, not to end the war. We are looking at how we can build the foundations of a Palestinian state with long-term hope and stability and focus on strengthening the humanitarian situation in Gaza and releasing all prisoners,” Leaf said during a press conference attended by a Agency correspondent.
She added, “We must ensure that this will never happen again (the war) for both the Israelis and the Palestinians, and we must work to achieve lasting peace and security in the region.”
“The conflict must remain contained and not be exploited by others in the region, whether in the West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq or other areas. This is an important part of our work, and we categorically reject the deportation of Palestinians from Gaza,” Lev continued.
The American official explained that “the presence of American soldiers and military forces in Jordan is for one reason, which is to defeat ISIS, which threatens the countries of the region and Jordan itself, and that the attack on our forces is unfortunate and unacceptable to Jordanian sovereignty and Jordanian soldiers,” indicating that “the Minister of Defense sees this matter as unacceptable and the American President is the one who decides the nature of the response.”
She stressed that “this attack is a proxy war in some areas with the support of Iran, and this affects the security and stability of the region. We do not know the timing of the response, and it will be at the time and place chosen by the United States.”
Barbara Leaf explained that “the Houthi attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea is unacceptable and negatively affects the economies of countries in the Middle East and affects navigation in the Suez Canal,” noting that “the coalition forces are dealing with it diplomatically and militarily because the attacks threaten food security in Jordan, Egypt and Yemen, as maritime navigation and the economies of these countries depend on it, because any escalation will affect the people of the region, especially the aforementioned countries.”
“There is a significant increase in mutual military activity on the border between Israel and Lebanon, and Hezbollah is intervening in the conflict, which constitutes an attack on the Blue Line where UN forces are located on the border. We are working with the Israeli government and conducting intensive discussions to understand the nature of the activities on the border between Israel and Lebanon. The two parties do not intend to enter the conflict directly, and we are seeking to find a diplomatic solution,” Lev said.
Regarding the prisoners between Hamas and Israel, she stressed, “We are making an effort to release the current one and are working on a proposal with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli partners to develop a collective proposal and present it to Hamas to conclude a deal that includes a humanitarian ceasefire. As the Foreign Minister said, the conflict with Hamas can end quickly, the attacks can stop and the perpetrators of the attack can be handed over on October 7.”