The Jordanian Foreign Ministry announced the cancellation of the quadripartite summit that was scheduled for Wednesday in Amman, which was meant to include US President Joe Biden.
The other participants were Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in addition to King Abdullah II of Jordan.
The decision was made following the Israeli bombing, and massacring of estimated 500 Palestinian civilians sheltered in the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza.
#Israel bombed a #UN-run school in central #Gaza, then carried out a massacre in Al-Ahli hospital, took responsibility, changed its story, then bombed another hospital. #AlAhliarabhospital #AlAhliHospitalhttps://t.co/1MQiyx8LXa pic.twitter.com/VlGZxDFYse
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 17, 2023
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in a press statement that “after consulting with our Palestinian brothers and brothers in Egypt and after talking with the United States, we decided not to hold the four-way summit that was scheduled in Amman for Wednesday.”
The kingdom decided to cancel the summit “because we wanted it .. stop the war, respect the humanity of the Palestinians and deliver the aid they deserve”, he said.
He stressed that the international community must put an end to the bloodshed, the continuation of which is a “stain on humanity”.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the number of victims of the Israeli shelling that targeted the yard of the Baptist Hospital in Gaza had risen to 500, most of them women and children.
GAZA INTERIOR MINISTRY: There is no safe point in the entire #Gaza Strip, and the occupation is bombing everywhere
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 17, 2023
White House Confirms
A White House official confirmed the Jordanian decision, saying that President Biden had canceled a planned visit to Jordan after his scheduled visit to Israel.
The official added that after consulting with King Abdullah II and in light of the days of mourning declared by the Palestinian president, Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan.
BIDEN: US President Joe Biden, commenting on the Baptist Hospital massacre, said that he feels angry and deeply sad.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 17, 2023
This happened within the context of widespread anger in Jordan against Biden’s visit to Amman.
Mass protests broke out simultaneously throughout the country, and hundreds of protesters tried to storm the Israeli Ambassy in Amman.
Protesters condemned the crimes of the occupation in the Gaza Strip and the American support for Israel, calling on the Jordanian government to expel the Israeli ambassador and close the embassy in Amman.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
