Jordan’s Abdullah: Israel’s government is no peace partner, its Greater Israel call would violate neighbors’ sovereignty, its Al-Aqsa rhetoric will spark ‘religious war’

Jordan’s King Abdullah II lashes out at Israel in his speech to the UN General Assembly, spending nearly the entirety of his speech on the matter of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. He labels the war in Gaza as “one of the darkest moments in this institution’s history,” but adds that the conflict has stretched back for decades.

“How long will we be satisfied with condemnation after condemnation without concrete action? When it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it seems that what unfolds in the halls of power is theory; the struggles and suffering on the ground are reality,” he says. Abdullah says that interim deals between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization have “served as a distraction as Israel grabbed more land, expanded illegal settlements, demolished homes, and displaced entire neighborhoods. 

Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem have been vandalized and desecrated by those under government protection.” “And throughout all these years, Israeli families too have not been able to live in true security because military action cannot bring the safety they need. Nowhere is that more evident than in Gaza,” he says. (Read More)