Subhi Alawneh’s three children will no longer be anxiously waiting to see their father coming home from work.
The 50-year-old’s life was ended abruptly on Monday by a rocket - believed to be fired from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula - which landed on a street in the peaceful resort city of Aqaba where he was working as a driver.
The city itself might not have been the target of the rocket, one of five that were presumably fired at the neighbouring Israeli town of Eilat on the opposite side of the gulf. But Aqaba did receive a hit - and a painful one at that - which killed the hardworking driver and injured three other persons, in addition to causing material and moral damage.
This brings to attention the issue of blind terror targeting civilians all over the world. Regardless of who the perpetrators are, the greatest damage is usually inflicted on Arabs and Muslims. They pay twice since they get killed in such incidents and because the perpetrators kill in their name.
The victims in Monday’s attack were ordinary Jordanian citizens.
Israelis on the other side of the Aqaba Gulf might have been targeted, but to target civilians of any nationality, creed or race is against all religious principles and norms, during war or peacetime.
It is obvious that the aim of these rockets was neither to win a war nor to liberate Palestine, but to inflame an already tense situation and to trigger further escalation in the Arab-Israeli conflict, thus threatening regional stability and security.
This is totally rejected and all parties to the conflict should be aware of the dangers inherent in any escalation.
Countries of the region have to coordinate efforts to prevent any future attempts to inflame the situation. As peace is certainly not the current right-wing Israeli government’s priority, the least that we can work for now is to avoid war, until a time comes when the Israeli public votes for a government that might want to make peace.
In the meantime, Jordan cannot stand idle as its security, stability and the lives of its citizens are threatened by any party.
The Kingdom will certainly do its utmost on all fronts to ensure that such incidents do not happen again and to keep Aqaba a peaceful resort that continues to attract tourists from all over the world.
The authorities will definitely do their best to ensure that people in Aqaba and elsewhere in Jordan will not be terrorised by the fear of a rocket falling over their heads.
Jordan has been an oasis of peace and security and will continue to be one.
No comments:
Post a Comment