Jordan's King Calls Israel a ‘Regional Threat.’
King Abdullah II has told the UN that Israel’s ‘sense of impunity’ has reached ‘terrifying levels’.
New York: Jordan’s King Abdullah II has described Israel as a ‘regional threat’ and urged the international community to take stronger action over the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Abdullah said Israel was acting with what he called ‘terrifying levels’ of impunity and accused its government of continuing attacks and destruction in Gaza.
He said the international community had spent decades trying to manage the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of resolving it, questioning the effectiveness of international law when violations go unpunished.
The king also raised concerns over the West Bank, accusing Israel of expanding settlements, increasing settler violence and pushing Palestinians from their land. He said Gaza and the West Bank should be treated as one Palestinian territory and warned that current policies could make a viable Palestinian state impossible.
Abdullah also criticised what he described as the international community’s failure to use measures such as sanctions, asset freezes, embargoes and diplomatic pressure against Israel.
He pointed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which offered normalised relations with Israel in return for a Palestinian state, saying the proposal remained on the table.
The Jordanian king also warned that Israel’s actions could have wider regional consequences, citing developments in Syria as an example. He said Jordan would continue to support Palestinian rights, a just peace and the existing status of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
