GazaPassage spokesperson, Christopher Bedell, has likened Jordan’s statement that the evacuation of non-combatants from Gaza would be tantamount to a declaration of war to the abject failure of the 1938 Evian Conference.
Bedell said, “Nations treating our mission- helping non-combatants leave a war zone- as a ‘declaration of war’ will be this generation’s Evian Conference.”
Called by US President Roosevelt in 1938 in response to the refugee crisis brought about by Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, the Evian Conference in France brought together delegates from 32 countries to discuss the situation and reach some resolution. However, not one country- bar Dominican Republic- offered to accept any refugees, the US itself pledging to take a sum total of zero.
Even Dominican Republic‘s offer was widely deemed a veiled and desperate attempt at a profile grab, leader Rafael Trujillo having slaughtered thousands of Haitians just the year before, as well as other insinuated insidious claims as to his intentions.
GazaPassage reported Jordan’s Foreign Minister’s statement on 18 October, in which he expressed the country’s “unwavering stance” that evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza would be treated as a declaration of war.
GazaPassage is working to ensure nations like Jordan and other nations around the world help non-combatants leave Gaza for humanitarian purposes.
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi asserted it was a priority to “protect” civilians and that continuation of the conflict would have devastating consequences for Gaza and the entire region.
