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Royal Press Office

Jordan’s monarch has delivered a stark warning that the Middle East is headed for disaster unless a peace process resulting in a Palestinian state is established.

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

This meeting takes place on the same day as the release of the last living Israeli hostages held in Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

“If we don't solve this problem,” the monarch said, “if we don't find a future for Israelis and Palestinians and a relationship between the Arab and Islamic nations and Israel, we are destined for ruin.”

Two-State Solution Viewed as Only Answer

The king observed that the region has witnessed many unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation and that enactment of a two-state framework—establishment of an sovereign Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, next to Israel—was the only answer.

“We must reverse course, but with a political horizon, because if we don't solve this problem, we will face the same crises again,” the king remarked.

Israel’s Stance and Regional Tensions

The Israeli government has consistently opposed a two-state outcome. At the UN General Assembly last month, Israel’s leader was forceful in his rejection.

“In fact, they effectively had a Palestinian entity—within Gaza. What did they do with that state? Reconciliation? Living side by side?”

“No, they attacked us time and time again, totally unprovoked, they fired rockets into our cities, they murdered our children, they transformed Gaza into a militant stronghold from which they carried out the October 7 massacre,” he continued, mentioning the assaults by Hamas two years ago that sparked the current Gaza conflict.

However, it was at the same UN assembly that President Trump invited Jordan’s king and other regional leaders to a meeting to outline his proposal for peace.

“His directive to us was that, ‘This must end. It needs to cease immediately.’ And we responded, ‘As you know, Mr. President, if anybody can do it, it's you,’” King Abdullah said.

Speaking of the hostilities of the last two years, including conflict between Israel and Iran and the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar recently, the monarch questioned: “How close have we come to a broad war that would have drawn in global powers?”

Lack of Trust and Hope for Peace

Speaking of the Israeli prime minister, the Jordanian leader stated he did not “trust a thing he says.” But he felt there were Israelis with whom Arab rulers could cooperate to establish peace.

As for Hamas and its acceptance to transfer control of Gaza to an independent Palestinian body under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, the king said he had been given confidence by those “in close coordination with them, Egypt and Qatar, [who] feel very, very optimistic that they will abide by that.”

But the king warned that the “complexities lay in the details” of the Trump mediated agreement, and that once a truce had been secured in Gaza it was vital that the American leader remained engaged with the process.

“In our discussions with President Trump, he knows that it's not just Gaza, nor is it solely about a political vision. I mean he's aiming for bringing peace to the entire area. That doesn't happen unless the Palestinians have a prospect.”

Jordan-Israel Relations and Past Agreements

Jordan has had a peace agreement with Israel since 1994, despite opposition from a significant portion of its population. More than 50% of the nation’s people is of Palestinian descent. The two countries work together on certain security matters.

The peace was negotiated by the king’s father, King Hussein, with the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He was killed by a Jewish extremist the following year. When asked if he believed he would witness a comprehensive peace deal with a Palestinian state within his lifetime, King Abdullah responded:

“I have to, because the other option would lead to probably the end of the region. My father, I recall in his final years, often said, ‘I desire peace for future generations.’ My grandchildren are growing up; they merit that tranquility. How awful would it be for them to grow up to repeat the identical words that my father said decades past?”

“I believe that's what galvanises me and many of us in the area, that reconciliation is the sole choice. Because if it doesn't come about, how often is the Western world, America especially, dragged into this? It's been 80 years. And I think it's the moment for everyone to say enough is enough.”

More than 67,000 people have been killed by Israel's military in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as reported by health authorities in the Gaza administration.

History does not provide great optimism, but the monarch believes this is a time of real potential.