Jordan said Friday Israel’s fight against Hamas in Gaza was responsible for soaring tensions, after US and British forces struck Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels, adding to fears of regional war.
In comments published by official news agency Petra, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned the international community against allowing the Israeli government’s “hatred and racism… to drag the region” into conflict.
“Israel’s brutal aggression against Gaza” and violations of Palestinians’ rights “pose the greatest threat” to regional stability, Safadi said.
He added that the kingdom — which in 1994 became the second Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel — was “keeping a close eye on the developments in the Red Sea”.
“The international community is at a crossroads in terms of security, morality, law and humanitarianism,” Safadi said, describing a choice between ending the Israel-Hamas war or risking wider conflict.
The pre-dawn air strikes on rebel-held Yemen followed weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Huthis who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza.
Friday’s attacks add to escalating fears of wider conflict in the region, where violence involving Tehran-aligned groups in Yemen as well as in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the Israel-Hamas war began in early October.
“Israel is driving the entire region towards greater conflict, tension and wars” which could draw in Western countries too, said Safadi, whose government has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The war began on October 7 with Hamas attacks on southern Israel, triggering a relentless Israeli military campaign in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Jordanians have demonstrated regularly since the start of the war in support of the Palestinians, with some protesters calling to cut ties with Israel and shut its embassy in Amman.
Jordan in November recalled its envoy to Israel and asked Israel not to send back its ambassador, who had been away.
