( dpa ) - Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir said Wednesday his country "categorically rejected" what he called Israel's unilateral escalation in the Gaza Strip, but continued to support peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Palestinian militants blew numerous holes in a wall along the border with Egypt in response to an Israeli siege aimed at ending rocket attacks into Israel that cut off supplies to the tiny Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas.
"Though the Arab strategic choice focuses on peace at this juncture, Jordan categorically rejects Israel's unilateral measures in the Gaza Strip," Bashir told the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. " Israel's unjustifiable escalation in the Palestinian territory jeopardizes peace chances in the region."
Jordanian lawmakers on Wednesday lashed out at Israel, contending the military operations in the Palestinian territory represented "a dangerous escalation that does not serve the quest of peace."
The Jordanian foreign minister is to travel to Cairo on Thursday to coordinate efforts with Egypt aimed at resolving the ordeal of 1.5 million Gazans.
Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab countries that have so far concluded official peace treaties with the Jewish state.