Foreign minister holds Israel responsible for regional escalation

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi Tuesday said Israel bears "full responsibility" for the Mideast escalation and urged the international community to curb the Israeli government's escalation. Safadi, who held talks with foreign ministers on the regional tension, said, "Israel is pushing the entire region into the abyss of a regional war by continuing its aggression on Gaza, violating international law and attacking the sovereignty of states." He added that the "dangerous" escalation would not stop unless the international community put pressure on Israel to stop its war in Gaza and abide by the international law. Safadi accused the Israeli prime minister of attempting to drag the region into a full-out war. He added that without effective international action to curb Israeli aggression, the Israeli prime minister would start more wars and conflicts in the region. Safadi warned that the Israeli prime minister, who undermined efforts to reach a deal leading to a ceasefire by assassinating the head of the polit ical bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, would undermine all efforts to de-escalate if not deterred. Safadi had talks with the foreign ministers of Qatar, Egypt, the US, Russia, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Cyprus, Sweden, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to mobilise support for de-escalation. Source: Jordan News Agency