Palestinian Authority should control Gaza with no armed groups, Jordan’s Foreign Minister says

Ayman Safadi says two-state solution is only way to escape cycle of violence

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Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a panel discussion at Davos on Wednesday that no armed groups should operate in postwar Gaza outside the control of the Palestinian Authority, which he said should assume control of the enclave.

Without mentioning Hamas, which currently governs the strip, Mr Safadi said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort that the PA “should exclusively control matters of war and peace, with no armed groups operating outside its authority”. He said a two-state solution was the only way to escape the cycle of violence in the region, urging all parties to ensure the ceasefire holds.

Establishing an independent sovereign state for the Palestinian people is the only path to achieving a just and comprehensive peace, he added. Gaza and the West Bank should be one entity while Israel's security must be guaranteed, the minister said.

Mr Safadi said Gaza was a "wasteland" and urged the international community to immediately provide large amounts of humanitarian aid to all areas of the enclave. “Priority number one is to get the ceasefire to hold, then we need to flood Gaza with humanitarian aid immediately ... then we can start talking about reconstruction," he said.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in 15 months of war in Gaza, with more than twice that number injured, according to Gaza's health authorities. A fragile ceasefire took hold on Sunday after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people were displaced by the fighting and large, built-up areas have been reduced to rubble. The minister also said Lebanon and its institutions should be supported as the country recovers from the war with Israel, and that Syrians should be helped to build a free, unified, and sovereign nation after the fall of the dictator Bashar Al Assad last month.

He said Saudi Arabia would play a vital role in bringing peace to the Middle East and that leadership was key. “There is a moment of opportunity in the region with all that's happening in Lebanon and Syria ... we should not leave the future of the region to radicals”.