Secretary of State Antony Blinken refused Arab calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza when he met with five Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan today. “A ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7,” Blinken remarked during a joint press conference with the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, reported Reuters. “No nation, none of us would accept that.... So it is important to reaffirm Israel’s right and its obligation to defend itself.”
Both Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi lashed out at Blinken in response. “The international community’s responsibility always is to seek the cessation of hostilities, not promote the continuance of violence,” Shoukry said. “I think we need to get our priorities straight,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, and adding: “Right now we have to make sure that this war stops.”
The Arabs also rejected Blinken’s talk of determining Gaza’s future while the war is still going on. “What happens next—how can we even entertain what will happen in Gaza when we do not know what kind of Gaza will be left” after this war? Safadi insisted.
