Egypt, Jordan FMs warn of broad war if Mideast tension rises

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan warned of broad warfare in the event tension in the Middle East continues to escalate, agreeing during talks on Wednesday on the need to preserve regional peace and stability. Backing efforts to protect Lebanon's security and stability, Bader Abdelati and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi said the region risks slipping into upheaval if Israeli military activity along the border with Lebanon persists, telling a joint press conference that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is now a dire necessity, The Egyptian foreign minister went on to say that aid to the Palestinian enclave should be "unconditional and unimpeded," given the "grave violations" of international laws committed by Israeli occupation forces, pointing to a "consensus" with his Egyptian counterpart over the need to put a halt to the Israeli practices that endanger the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians. Echoing his Egyptian opposite number's sentiments, the Jordanian top diplomat urged the internati onal community to intervene and take "concrete and tangible" steps aiming to put an end to Israeli occupation "aggression," while highlighting in equal measure the protection and stability of Lebanon amid the worsening violence. On the forced displacement of the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, he said the matter was a "red line" that should never be crossed, underlining that support for the Palestinians will continue until their statehood aspirations ultimately come to fruition, based on 1967 border lines with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. Source: Kuwait News Agency