Latest news with #AbdullahKanaan
Ammon
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Ammon
Kanaan: Jerusalem a central international issue despite escalating crises
Ammon News - Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs Secretary-General Abdullah Kanaan said Monday that the city of Jerusalem must remain a central issue on the international agenda despite escalating crises and regional and international conflicts. He told Petra in an interview that the Israeli occupation (authority) never missed an opportunity, both internally and externally, to bolster its settlement policies and impose restrictions on Jerusalem, its people and holy sites. Israel lately stepped up incursions into the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, led by extremist settlers and protected by police, at a time of rising security tensions in the region, he said. What is happening in Jerusalem is not a mere emergency, but a strategic priority for the far-right Israeli government, which requires international political and media action to expose and document violations and hold Israel accountable under international law, which recognizes Jerusalem as an occupied city, and calls for maintaining its historical status and cessation of all settlement activities and attacks on holy sites, he said. Kanaan said the Israeli-Iranian conflict and the Russian-Ukrainian war should not be overlooked by the world for their importance. In the meantime, the ongoing tragedy of the Palestinian people, i.e. the killing, displacement, and massacres, drags on amid international silence and the absence of a serious will to stop the Israeli occupation, which continues in defiance of international law, threatening the security and peace of the region and the world. He said Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will remain firm in supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, no matter the challenges and sacrifices. Petra
Jordan Times
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Jerusalem's Royal committee says occupation ‘kills' Easter celebrations
The Old City of Jerusalem with the Dome of the Rock (right) and Al Aqsa Mosque (left) (AFP file photo) AMMAN — Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs Abdullah Kanaan on Sunday said that while Christians around the world, including in Jerusalem, Gaza, and the occupied Palestinian territories, celebrate Easter, the Israeli occupation continues its policy of killing all aspects of joy and happiness. Kanaan added that Israel turns both Islamic and Christian holidays into occasions marked by apartheid, racism, violence, and violations. In a statement to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Kanaan noted that this year's Easter celebrations unfortunately coincide with scenes of repression, beatings, and closures targeting Christians in Jerusalem and Gaza, which has been under 'brutal' Israeli aggression for 560 consecutive days. He emphasised that such violations have become familiar to the people in Palestine during all their holidays and occasions. Kanaan stressed that, on the occasion of Easter, the committee calls on the international community to recognise that the true spirit of Muslim-Christian coexistence in Jerusalem, which was established by the Umariyya Covenant and the teachings of Islam, is under attack in what amounts to a religious war. He also referred to continuous Israeli attempts to erase the Arab Islamic and Christian identity and the symbolism of their holidays that spread happiness and harmony. He added that the world now realises that Muslim-Christian coexistence in Jerusalem and across Palestine has become a shared experience not only of living together but of sacrifice and steadfastness. The secretary-genral said that holidays of Palestinians in the occupied territories are marred by the 'machinery of war' and the policies of a far-right government. 'Families mark their celebrations in refugee camps, among the ruins of their homes, and amid the pain of losing loved ones, with the only hope being liberation from occupation and its cruelty,' he said. Kanaan reiterated that Jordan, its people and leadership, who hold the Hashemite custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will remain a steadfast supporter of the people of Jerusalem, Gaza, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Jordan Times
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
'More than a million Palestinians detained since 1967'
A view of the Old City of Jerusalem (JT file photo) AMMAN — Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs Secretary-General Abdullah Kanaan said on Wednesday that the issue of Palestinian prisoners symbolises the Palestinian people's suffering, with more than a million Palestinians having been arrested and imprisoned since 1967, according to a United Nations report. He said in a statement to mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day that after more than 555 days of Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, over 10,000 prisoners, including those from occupied East Jerusalem, were held in Israeli prisons, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. "Prisoners are held in abysmal humanitarian and dangerous conditions, especially after "racist" legislation by far-right Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which was passed by the Knesset, under which more than 60 prisoners have died in Israeli jails since October 2023," he added. The figure is a testimony of the brutality of the occupation authority, he said, adding that despite Israel's release of some prisoners, the deteriorating health conditions and signs of torture on their frail bodies is "a reiteration of the brutal colonialism that is in disregard of international laws and organizations and human rights and dignity." On this occasion, he said, the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs sends a message to international public opinion urging support for the Palestinian people, who are all prisoners living in dire conditions with accelerating Israeli violations and attacks in the full absence of international organisations that are engaged with other issues and conflicts. He said the occupation authority is fighting international relief and human rights organisations in Palestine, including the closure and evacuation of UNRWA headquarters and denying human rights workers access to Israeli jails. Kanaan said Jordan, the custodian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will remain a steadfast supporter of the Palestinians.
Jordan Times
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Jerusalem's Royal committee urges action to halt genocide in Palestine
A young boy looks on as Palestinians stand amid the devastation in the yard of a school, a day after it was hit by an Israeli strike, in the Al Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday (AFP photo) AMMAN — Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs Abdullah Kanaan on Sunday stressed that the international community and its organisations must uphold their legal and moral responsibilities to protect the Palestinian people and prevent the genocide being carried out by Israel. In a statement issued to mark the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide, Kanaan said that the Israeli occupation neglects international law, legitimacy, and international courts, expanding its extremist practices, genocide acts, and ethnic cleansing to the extent of threatening the security and stability of the region and the world. Kanaan stressed that the committee calls on the world to adopt a "strong" and actionable stance that compels the occupation to adhere to international law and be held accountable for its ongoing crimes. He said that the genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation is not only targeting Palestine but is also an assault on justice, humanity and moral values globally. The secretary-general urged international organisations to speak out decisively to stop the genocide being committed by Israel. He added that genocide is defined as the total or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, referring to the signing of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in Paris in December, 1948. This convention stipulates that committing, planning or conspiring to commit genocide is a crime that necessitates punishment, he noted. Kanaan pointed out that designating genocide as an international crime means that the law to combat it is binding for all nations, even those that have not ratified the convention, including Israel, which falsely claims to respect international legitimacy. He further noted that despite global condemnation by legitimate organisations and international courts of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces, the world remains incapable of curbing the occupation's arrogance and its systematic plans in Palestine, particularly given that Israel's strategy is fundamentally built on genocide and forced displacement. Kanaan said that Israeli practices have turned international commemorative days, including the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide, into "empty slogans" lacking real enforcement measures that would hold perpetrators accountable and prevent further crimes, as evident in the ongoing Israeli violations and repeated massacres against Palestinians.
