(21 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Amman, Jordan – 21 May 2024
1. Various of Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström being received by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi
2. Meeting between Billström and al-Safadi
3. Billström talking
4. Al-Safadi taking
5. Billström and al-Safadi arriving at press conference room
6. SOUNDBITE (English Tobias Billström, Sweden’s foreign minister:
"We have noted that the prosecutor of the ICC (International Criminal Court) has sought that the court should continue with the order of arrest against several Hamas leaders and the Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and the minister of defense, (Yoav) Gallant. It is of course the court that makes the decision. You could argue whether it was a good thing to put both these cases on the same plate because after all, Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Israel is not a terrorist organisation. It is a democratic state. But of course, the court is the court. And Sweden always upholds the multilateral system, and that also needs to be said very clearly."
7. Wide of reporters
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ayman al-Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister:
“International law is there to be applied equally to all. Nobody and no country is above the law, and international organisations are there to do a job. But they must be allowed to do their job and their decisions must be respected, and all of us should support a just process that goes through due process. And that should apply to everybody. And I think what we should judge is, the crime, and not who commits it. So, there are – we’ve seen, a horrific situation happening, and I think again, nobody should speak before the court decides what it does. But I think the position that is essential for all of us to be able to maintain the integrity of (inaudible) organisations is that their job must be respected. And, again, actions should be judged on merit. And the court will and should have the ability to make a determination based on facts and come up with a ruling that everybody should respect."
9. Wide of press conference
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayman al-Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister:
"As we speak now, there is an attack on the city of Jenin. So far about 7 Palestinians have been killed and nine have been injured. We condemn this aggression and demand that it be stopped immediately. We call on the international community to take a clear position to stop all these operations that only lead to more killing of innocent Palestinians and only lead toward further escalation."
11. Wide of press conference
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Tobias Billström, Sweden’s foreign minister:
"The human suffering in Gaza is terrible. An immediate ceasefire is needed. Israel can and must do a lot more to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, in terms of ensuring the protection of civilians and the facilitation of the provision of humanitarian aid. Sweden’s support to the Palestinian people goes way back. Since October, we have increased all humanitarian aid to Gaza by about 35 million euros. Just last week, we decided to increase this further with another 10 million euros, which would go to the World Food Program, the WFPA, UNICEF and the UNFPA."
13. Billström and al-Safadi shaking hands at the end of the press conference
STORYLINE:
Sweden’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that the "human suffering in Gaza is terrible" and that an "an immediate cease-fire is needed," speaking from Amman, where he met his Jordanian counterpart.
He spoke during a joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.
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