Jordan's King Says Israel, Palestine Need 2-State Solution

Jordan's King Abdullah said Israel and the Palestinians could achieve "genuine security" only "through the two-state solution, a solution that leads to the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Photo Insert: King Abdullah II of Jordan addressing the European Parliament

"How many more children will die before the world wakes up?" Abdullah asked at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a pre-recorded speech. "Global partnership is critical to resolving one of the longest-standing conflicts in modern history – the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," Abdullah added.

Referring to the recent round of fighting between Hamas and Israel in May, Abdullah said that "the bitter war on Gaza this past year was a reminder that the current situation is simply unsustainable. And the suffering we continue to see points us once more to the critical need to keep supporting UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), as it continues to fulfill its UN mandate and provide vital humanitarian services to 5.7 million vulnerable Palestinian refugees," he said.

"But how many more homes will be lost? How many more children will die before the world wakes up? Genuine security for either side – indeed, for the whole world – can only be achieved through the two-state solution," the Jordanian monarch said.

A solution that leads to the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and a viable Palestinian state on the basis of the June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security," as Abdullah described it, "and Jerusalem is at the heart of this peace. Billions of people around the world hold this Holy City dear."

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