Jordan urges world pressure on Israel to stop Gaza attacks (Roundup)

Jan 11, 2009, 20:06 GMT

Amman - Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir on Sunday summoned ambassadors of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and urged them to put pressure Israel to comply with the UN resolution and halt its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

'The international community, particularly the five permanent countries of the UN Security Council, bears under the UN charter the responsibility of protecting world peace and security,' a Foreign Ministry statement quoted Bashir as telling the envoys of the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

'Israel is committing flagrant violations of international law by ignoring Resolution 1860 and going ahead with its aggression, using universally prohibited weapons,' Bashir added.

Israel has rejected the resolution which calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, Jordan's King Abdullah II discussed the rising tensions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and 'stressed the responsibility of the world community in forcing Israel to ... stop its aggression and allow entry of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people,' a royal court statement said.

Abbas made a stopover in Amman after meeting Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak in Cairo on his way back home from New York where he attended the UN Security Council deliberations that produced Resolution 1860.

King Abdullah 'underscored the importance of coming up with a unified Arab attitude that foils the Israeli schemes and helps the launching of a real world effort to find a solution for the conflict on the basis of ending the occupation and setting up an independent Palestinian state,' the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian government came under fresh attack in the lower house of parliament on Sunday for its failure to sever ties with Israel and dismiss the Israeli ambassador from Amman.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi has said that all options are open to Jordan including a 'review' of ties with Israel.