Jordan cancels summit with President Biden, Sisi and Abbas

Image courtesy: SAUL LOEB/ Getty Images

President Joe Biden has cancelled his visit to Jordan after the kingdom called off plans for a summit with Egyptian and Palestinian leaders, a blow to diplomatic efforts to contain a conflict that is threatening to engulf the Middle East region.

A White House official told Bloomberg that the decision was made after consulting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas following an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said earlier on Tuesday that the proposed summit between President Biden, King Abdullah II, President Abbas and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was cancelled after the reports about the hospital blast.

Foreign Minister Safadi said the meeting would be held at a time when the parties could agree to end the conflict.

King Abdullah would have hosted the four-way summit, which would have on its agenda the need to get humanitarian assistance to Gaza to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and tamp down the conflict with Israel.

The monarch expressed his absolute condemnation against the bombing of a hospital where civilians including injured and sick people were receiving treatment, according to state-run Jordan News Agency.

President Biden visits Israel

Meanwhile, President Biden is currently en route to Israel for a Wednesday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US President was “outraged” by the explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed about 500 people while noting that he had directed his national security team to gather information about exactly what had happened.

“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza and the terrible loss of life that resulted,” President Biden said in a statement.

“The US stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy.”

I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted. Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and have directed my national…

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 17, 2023

However, the explosion reportedly threatens to unravel Biden’s efforts to ensure that the Hamas-Israel conflict does not escalate in the region. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey were among the countries to condemn the attack.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and to ensure that civilians and civilian institutions are not targeted, according to state-run news agency, WAM.

The Ministry also underlined the importance of the protection of civilians, according to international humanitarian law, international treaties for the protection of civilians and human rights, and the need to ensure that they are not targeted in conflict.

The UAE is calling on the international community to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, to avoid further fuelling the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to prevent the region from being pulled into new levels of violence, tension and instability.

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