Safadi: If Airdrops Can Save the Life of One Palestinian Child, We Will Carry Them Out Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi participated on Monday evening in the main session of the "United Nations High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Resolution of the Palestinian Question and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution," held at the UN Headquarters in New York. The event was co-chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic. اضافة اعلان Safadi met with a number of his counterparts on the sidelines of the conference and delivered Jordan's statement. The following is the full text of his speech: In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, His Excellency Jean-Noël Barrot, Dear colleagues, Peace be upon you, Today, we gather—most of the world's countries—to reaffirm that there is only one path to achieving a just peace that guarantees security and stability for our entire region: the Two-State Solution, which ends occupation, oppression, and injustice, and leads to the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian national soil, along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in security and peace alongside Israel, in accordance with international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative. We convene while the catastrophic failure to implement this solution unfolds before our eyes in the form of killing, destruction, starvation, and tyranny—reducing international law and humanitarian law to empty slogans that are raised but never implemented. We see the consequences of this failure in Gaza, where occupation and aggression have turned it into a graveyard for its people—and for our shared human values. The people of Gaza are dying from bombs and hunger. Mothers in Gaza are watching their children fade before their eyes—unable to find a drop of water, a piece of bread, or a single tablet to ease their pain as they die in short lives filled only with deprivation, suffering, and despair. We also see it in the occupied West Bank, where settlement is accelerating, land is being confiscated, Palestinian blood is being shed, Muslim and Christian holy sites are being violated, and hope for peace—the only guarantor of security for both Palestinians and Israelis—is dying. We witness the arrogance of Israeli power trampling international law and the sovereignty of states: In Lebanon, where Israel violates the ceasefire agreement. In Syria, where Israel expands its occupation, interferes in Syria's internal affairs, even as the world supports rebuilding a free, stable Syria for all Syrians, where they live with security, dignity, and equality. Dear Colleagues, This is a reality that exposes our shared humanity, threatens our collective security, undermines the credibility of international law and the UN Charter, and risks turning this conflict into the region's permanent fate—past, present, and future. The aggression on Gaza must stop immediately. The international community must prevent the death of another Palestinian child—by violence, starvation, or thirst. Over 600,000 Palestinian children in Gaza must return to their schools. 2.3 million Palestinians must regain their belief that their lives have value and that their children have a future. Therefore: The Egyptian-Qatari-American efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal and end the war must succeed. Humanitarian aid must flow uninterrupted, particularly through UN agencies, especially UNRWA. All crossings must be opened to allow the delivery of aid. Jordan will continue to send as much aid as possible via land convoys—and by air when Israel leaves no other option. Airdrops are no substitute for land convoys, but the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza means that every food parcel or medicine box delivered is a step toward saving a life. If airdrops can save the life of even one Palestinian child, we will carry them out. Because the life of a single Palestinian child is worth saving. Jordan will continue to do everything possible to address this humanitarian catastrophe by every available means—and is ready to work with all of you in this humanitarian duty. The international community must also act decisively to stop Israel's illegal measures that undermine the two-state solution in the occupied West Bank. The ceasefire agreement in Lebanon must be implemented. Israeli aggression and interference in Syria, which destabilize the country and rob its people of peace and the right to rebuild, must end. Dear Colleagues, Today's conference will not by itself implement the two-state solution, but it is a necessary message: The world sees no other path to peace—a peace that protects the region and global security from further conflict. If anyone has an alternative to the two-state solution, let them present it. The Palestinian people remain on their land, holding to their rights. Will more than five million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza remain victims of an occupation that refuses to see them as human beings entitled to dignity, freedom, and self-determination? Is a one-state solution, where Palestinians receive equal political and human rights, a viable option? Or is institutionalized apartheid the inevitable outcome if the two-state solution fails—exposing the last shred of credibility in international law, and rendering the just peace we all seek an impossible goal? The Israeli government opposes this conference and rejects it as an event, because it contradicts its chosen path of dismantling the two-state solution. It claims that negotiations are the way to solve the conflict—yet refuses to negotiate. It enacts laws denying Palestinians their right to a state, confiscates their land, and some of its extremists deny the very humanity of the Palestinian people. If Israel wants to negotiate, the Palestinian leadership is ready to begin negotiations that we all support, aiming for a just peace that secures the legitimate rights of all. But Israel is not negotiating. That is the reality. And it is time for the international community to act based on its stated belief in the two-state solution—by taking practical steps to implement it and confronting, by all means available, those obstructing it—those denying both Palestinians and Israelis and all peoples of the region their right to live in peace. Dear Colleagues, A just peace is a strategic Arab choice confirmed in the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. A just peace ends the occupation and guarantees Israel's security and normal relations with all Arab countries. This initiative—supported by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and 57 Arab and Muslim countries—remains on the table, awaiting an Israeli partner willing to engage in genuine negotiations to fulfill its promise of a comprehensive and lasting peace. Even if implementing the two-state solution is not possible today, protecting it and halting the measures that undermine it are urgent necessities. Recognizing the State of Palestine is an important step in this direction. We value France's announcement of its intention to recognize the State of Palestine, and we thank France and all countries that have already taken this decision. We call on all countries around the world to recognize the State of Palestine—affirming their support for justice, peace, and international law. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will continue to support the Palestinian people's right to life, freedom, and statehood, and will dedicate all its capacities to achieve a just peace that fulfills rights, is acceptable to the peoples, ends the conflict, and secures stability. Dear Colleagues, Occupation and peace are opposites. Occupation and security cannot coexist. Killing Palestinian children, destroying their schools, mosques, and churches—these will not bring peace. Only a just peace will ensure security for both Palestinians and Israelis, and build the future of stability and cooperation we all aspire to. We thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic for organizing today's conference—a united global voice crying, "Enough of conflict, occupation, killing, and oppression," and a collective stance declaring that a just peace is our choice, through the two-state solution and the opportunity it offers to build a future of justice, not injustice—hope, not despair—cooperation, not conflict. (Petra)
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