Amman, Jerusalem, and Ramallah Visit, November 2023

On the 12th November, Oliver McTernan and Jordan Morgan met with senior Foreign Ministry officials in Amman. The purpose was to evaluate the Jordanian position towards the conflict. They expressed deep concern about Israeli tactics and the serious consequences these could have throughout the region.

On the 13th November, they met with a senior official from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a had a number of bilateral meetings with cross-party Members of the Knesset and advisors.

On 14th November, they also met with senior Palestinian Authority (PA) and independent Palestinian leaders, including a meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed Shteyyeh, Dr Sabri Saidam, Dr Mustafa Barghouti and the diplomatic advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas, Ambassador Majdi Khaldi. The overall purpose of these meetings was to evaluate the conflict from a Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian perspective.

We are deeply worried about the direction in which the conflict is heading. Oliver and Jordan found a very traumatised Israel, particularly in the Knesset, which is understandable in the face of what happened on the 7th of October.

Equally traumatised were the Palestinians they met in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, given the human catastrophe that the people of Gaza are currently enduring.

We continually stress the need for a permanent ceasefire and a halt to the ongoing loss of human life. This conflict cannot be solved through military means, or solutions imposed from outside. If there are any lessons to be learned from the Oslo Accords, this should be obvious.

What is required is an inclusive political process in which all relevant parties are engaged. We cannot see a return to the cycle of violence that has proved so costly in human life.

Oliver and Jordan meet with Mohammad Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, in Ramallah.