French President Emmanuel Macron and King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday stressed the need to support efforts to restore calm to the border between Lebanon and Israel, and to bolster stability in the Land of the Cedars.
Over lunch at the Élysée Palace, they warned against a “conflagration that would be catastrophic for the region” if the tensions persist on the southern border, where exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel are uninterrupted, and reiterated their calls to all parties for “responsibility and restraint”.
President Macron and King Abdullah also called on Israel to lift all land-based “restrictions” on the delivery of aid to war-torn Gaza, the presidency said.
UN agencies have repeatedly warned of severe shortages of vital supplies in Gaza, exacerbated by restrictions on access by land and the closure of the key Rafah crossing with Egypt since Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side in early May.
Macron and Abdullah II reiterated the need for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza” and called for the release of all hostages — including two French nationals.
The leaders also “expressed their deep concern about the situation in the West Bank and strongly condemned the violence committed by settlers”, the Élysée Palace said in a statement.
They agreed to continue to work together on a “lasting and credible solution” to the war based on the “two-state solution” and welcomed reforms undertaken by the Palestinian government and called for them to be continued.
With AFP
