Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King of Jordan said:  “Another year.  Another UN General Assembly, and another occasion when I stand before you to address the same issue:  the Middle East”.  Questioning “the utility of words” considering the magnitude of the crisis, he recalled that although 80 years ago the world vowed “‘Never again’, for almost as long, Palestinians have been living through cruel cycle of ‘yet again’”.  They are bombed indiscriminately, killed, displaced and denied their basic humanity “yet again”.  How long before a resolution to this conflict — one that safeguards the rights of all sides — is found, he asked.  Though not the only conflict in the world, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is unique as it is “the longest-standing conflict in the world, an illegal occupation of a helpless population by a self-declared ‘democratic nation’ and a flagrant violation of UN resolutions, international law and human rights convention”.

Such failures should have been met with outrage — especially from major democracies, he stressed.  Instead, they have only been met with “decades of inertia”.  The conflict has been on the UN agenda throughout its 80 years of existence.  “How long will we be satisfied with condemnation after condemnation without concrete action?” he continued.  Neither interim agreements nor temporary stopgaps have delivered results. Moreover, many of these processes could be seen as distractions “as Israel grabbed more land, expanded illegal settlements, demolished homes and displaced entire neighbourhoods”.  Throughout, Israelis have not been able to live in security because military action cannot bring them safety.  No where is that more evident than in Gaza, where more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, starvation is widespread and the rubble of hospitals, schools, mosques and churches stretches for miles, he said.  “Never in our modern history has the lens of international media been obstructed like this — from capturing the reality on the ground”.

Voicing concern for the current Israeli Government’s provocative calls for a ‘Greater Israel’, he stressed that such plans can only be achieved through violating the territorial integrity of the country’s neighbours.  “The international community must stop entertaining the illusion that this Government is a willing partner for peace,” he said, recalling Israel’s “flagrant violations” of sovereignty of Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Tunisia, and — most recently — Qatar.  He called on the international community to hold all nations to the same standards and to recognise that statehood is not a reward, but an indisputable right.  For its part, Jordan serves as the main base for the international humanitarian response in Gaza in line with his country’s heritage of compassion and generosity to people in need.  A glimmer of hope exists as more nations support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza — ensuring the release of all hostages, unhindered humanitarian aid and support for the Palestinian people to rebuild.

“Repeated wars are teaching generations of Israelis and Palestinians that their only recourse is the gun,” he continued, stressing that “security will only come when Palestine and Israel begin to co-exist side by side”. The two-State solution, in line with UN resolutions, with a viable, independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, living alongside a secure Israel, has been a goal promoted by the Arab Peace Initiative for almost 25 years.  “The world’s conscience” is stirring with the courage of ordinary people.  Raising their voices as one, they declare “it has been too long” he said, urging that “the United Nations must echo that call […] and it must act on that call until peace is a reality.”