The foreign ministers of the Munich Group: Jordan, France, Egypt and Germany Thursday met in Berlin to discuss the “necessary measures to achieve a just and lasting peace.” According to a statement, the four foreign ministers expressed their “deep concern” about the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel and the developments in and around Gaza following Israeli raids that had claimed the lives of civilian Palestinians, including women and children. “We call for an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire that would end the Israeli military operations in Gaza and the firing of indiscriminate rockets against Israel,” the ministers said, according to the statement. “This unfortunate reality confirms the need for more efforts to avoid escalating the situation and finding a political horizon that would restore hope, fulfil aspirations and ends the occupation,” the statement read. The ministers discussed the “need” to stop the causes of tension and violence, including unilateral Israeli measures that undermine the two-state solution and the chances of realising peace. They commended the joint efforts of Jordan, Egypt and the US to stop the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories and resume a broader political process to promote peace based on the two-state solution. The ministers said: “We call for preserving the status quo in the holy sites in Jerusalem. In this regard, we note the importance of the Hashemite Custodianship in places in Jerusalem. We also express our deep concern about the growing escalation against Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem. “Recent events confirm the need to return to a credible political process that leads to a comprehensive and lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, leading to a two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of a geographically contiguous, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, according to Security Council resolutions. “We will continue to work with all parties to find realistic prospects for resuming a credible peace process. We affirm that achieving a just and lasting peace is a strategic goal in the interest of all parties and is the key to security and stability in the region.”
Source: Jordan News Agency