Israel-Palestine Conflict: Jordan Cancels Biden-Hosted Four-Way Summit, Calls on Nations To Stop “Massacre Against Palestinians”

According to Al Jazeera, citing Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, the quadrilateral meeting that the country’s king was supposed to organize with US President Joe Biden in attendance to tackle the humanitarian catastrophe brought on by Israel’s shelling of Gaza has been canceled. The incident happened after a hospital in the Gaza Strip was bombed, killing 500 people, including children.

Safadi said that the conference will take place at a time when the parties could agree to put an end to the “war and the massacres against Palestinians” and accused Israel of bringing the Middle East to “the brink of an abyss” with its military assault.

Israel has denied responsibility for the bombing of the Al Ahli Arab hospital on Tuesday and said that Islamic Jihad’s unsuccessful rocket strike was what caused the explosion. President of the United States Joe Biden delayed his trip to Jordan in the immediate wake of the incident. On Wednesday, when his tour to Israel was to come to an end, he was supposed to fly off for Jordan.

“After consulting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt,” a spokesperson for the White House stated.

“The President expressed his sincere condolences for the innocent souls lost in the Gaza hospital explosion and wished the injured a quick recovery. The official said, “He pledged to continue to routinely and personally interact with each of these leaders over the coming days and looks forward to engaging with each of them in person shortly.

On Tuesday, Biden flew out of Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews for Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, and Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the president of Egypt, were also scheduled to attend the four-way summit, which King Abdullah of Jordan was to host in Amman.