U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks onboard the plane during his visit to Israel as he departs en route to Jordan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. AP
Ahead of Blinken’s meeting, the Arab ministers will hold a coordination meeting in the Jordanian capital, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement today.
The coordination meeting will be attended by the Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein al-Sheikh.
The Arab foreign ministers will follow up on their efforts aimed at halting the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the strip, the ministry noted.
Earlier today, Blinken met Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss the steps needed to protect civilians as the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is unfolding.
In a news conference in Tel Aviv today following his meetings, Blinken called for Israel to temporarily stop the war in Gaza to ensure aid access for the Palestinian people in the strip.
However, Netanyahu said in a televised statement released shortly after he met with Blinken that Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire before the release of the Israeli hostages.
Arab calls for a ceasefire
The Saturday meetings in Amman come as the Israeli unrelenting onslaught in Gaza, now on its 28th day, has killed more than 9,300 people and put the humanitarian system in the strip on the brink of a complete collapse.
The Arab countries have been calling for a cessation of Israeli hostilities in the Gaza Strip to protect civilians and provide aid at a scale and on a sustainable basis.
An Arab resolution approved by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last week has urged a humanitarian truce in Gaza.
However, Israel has slammed the resolution as “despicable.”
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