Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, announced on Thursday that Jordan will not sign a previously planned deal with Israel to provide energy in exchange for water. Safadi made this statement during an interview with AL Jazeera TV. He emphasized that the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has demonstrated that regional projects, such as the energy-for-water deal, will not proceed. Instead, Safadi stated that all of Jordan’s efforts are currently focused on ending what he described as Israel’s “retaliatory barbarism” in the Gaza Strip.
Moreover, Safadi mentioned that Jordan will not engage in discussions about the governance of Gaza after the war. He believed that doing so at this time would give Israel the green light to act as it wishes. Safadi stressed that if the international community wishes to address this issue, they must first put an end to the ongoing conflict.
The news report was compiled by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Ahmed Tolba, with editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Potter.
