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Royal Press Office

Jordan’s monarch has issued a serious caution that the Middle East faces doom unless a negotiation effort resulting in a sovereign Palestine is established.

He stated this during an exclusive interview while preparing to participate in a high-level meeting in the Egyptian resort city focusing on a 20-point peace plan for the area.

This meeting coincides with the freeing of the final Israeli captives held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

“If we don't solve this problem,” the monarch said, “without a shared future for both peoples and a relationship between the Arab and Islamic nations and Israel, we are destined for ruin.”

Palestinian Statehood Seen as Only Answer

The king noted that the region has experienced many failed attempts at peace and that implementation of a two-state solution—establishment of an sovereign Palestine in the occupied territories, next to Israel—remains the only viable option.

“We must reverse course, but with a political horizon, because if this issue remains unresolved, we will face the same crises again,” he remarked.

Israeli Opposition and Regional Tensions

The Israeli government has repeatedly rejected a two-state solution. At the United Nations General Assembly recently, Israel’s leader was emphatic in his rejection.

“In fact, they essentially possessed a Palestinian entity—within Gaza. How was it used? Reconciliation? Co-existence?”

“No, they launched assaults repeatedly, without any provocation, they launched missiles into our cities, they murdered our children, they turned Gaza into a terror base from which they carried out the deadly October 7 attacks,” he continued, mentioning the assaults by Hamas two years ago that sparked the current Gaza conflict.

Nonetheless, it was at the same UN assembly that the U.S. leader invited Jordan’s king and other leaders from the area to a meeting to present his proposal for peace.

“The message he gave all of us was that, ‘This must end. It has to stop now.’ And we responded, ‘As you know, Mr President, if anyone can achieve this, it's you,’” the king said.

Speaking of the hostilities of the last two years, including conflict between Israel and Iran and the Israeli strike on Hamas officials in Qatar recently, the monarch questioned: “How close have we come to regional conflict that would have encompassed the whole world?”

Lack of Trust and Peace Prospects

Regarding Netanyahu, the king said he did not “trust a thing he says.” But he felt there were Israelis with whom Arab leaders could work to build peace.

As for Hamas and its acceptance to transfer control of Gaza to an Palestinian authority under the conditions of the truce deal, the king noted he had been assured by those “that are working extremely close to them, Egypt and Qatar, [who] are highly hopeful that they will abide by that.”

But the king cautioned that the “complexities lay in the details” of the Trump mediated agreement, and that once a truce had been achieved in Gaza it was vital that the American leader stayed involved with the process.

“During our talks, he knows that Gaza is not the only issue, it's not just a particular political horizon. I mean he's aiming for bringing peace to the entire area. This cannot occur unless the Palestinian people have a prospect.”

Bilateral Ties and Historical Context

Jordan has had a peace agreement with the state of Israel since 1994, despite opposition from a significant portion of its population. Over half of the country's population is of Palestinian origin. The both nations co-operate on some security issues.

This accord was negotiated by the current monarch's late father, the former king, with the former Israeli leader. He was killed by a Jewish extremist the following year. When asked if he believed he would see a final peace agreement including a Palestinian state within his own lifetime, King Abdullah responded:

“I have to, because the other option would mean probably the collapse of the region. My father, I recall towards the end of his life, often said, ‘I desire peace for future generations.’ I have two grandchildren; they merit that tranquility. How tragic for them to mature to repeat the same thing that my father uttered years ago?”

“And I think that's what galvanises me and many of us in the region, that reconciliation is the only option. Without it, how often is the West, America especially, dragged into this? It's been 80 years. And I believe it's the moment for all of us to say no more.”

More than 67,000 people have been killed by Israel's military in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

The past does not provide great optimism, but King Abdullah believes this is a moment of real potential.