Jordan’s king decries ‘dangers’ to Jerusalem, ‘long denial’ of Palestinian state

Jordan’s King Abdullah II calls for collective action to solve conflicts across the Middle East, singling out the “long denial of a Palestinian state” as the “key crisis” in the region.

Abdullah says every UN resolution passed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “recognizes the equal rights of the Palestinian people to a future of peace, dignity and hope.”

“This is the heart of a two-state settlement. The only path to a comprehensive lasting peace,” he says.

Amid global criticism of the Trump administration’s approach to the conflict, Abdullah says the US “as long been committed to peace and has a leading role in our progress going forward.”

Turning to Jerusalem, where Jordan is the custodian of Christian and Muslim holy sites in the Old City, Abdullah decries “dangers to its multi-faith heritage and identity.”

“How can we accept a status quo of continuing crises and bigotry,” he says.

Abdullah calls the idea of a single binational state that some have backed amid stalled progress on reaching a two-state solution an “abandonment of peace.”

He also says the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees must be fully funded. The Trump administration cut funding to UNRWA last month.