The American newspaper "Washington Post" published an article today, Tuesday, by Jordanian King Abdullah II, in which he asserted that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The Jordanian monarch noted the thousands of casualties over more than a month of war on Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, and that thousands of children have been killed under the rubble of destroyed homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza. He questioned, "How can we accept these brutal acts and crimes in the name of our shared humanity?"
He called for respect for humanitarian principles "before it is too late and we reach a point of moral collapse for all of us," pointing out that leaders around the world have a responsibility to confront the full reality of this crisis, no matter how horrific it may be. He indicated that families in Gaza who are bombed and forced out of their homes with nowhere to seek refuge are victims of collective punishment, asserting that there is no longer a safe place, not a hospital, school, or United Nations building.
He said, "There is no doubt that the residents of Gaza will not leave their homes due to a bulletin or a text message ordering them to do so; they know that leaving means losing hope, dignity, and the chance to return to their land, as they have witnessed many Palestinians before them and their ancestors experience this over the past seven decades of this conflict."
He added that the Israeli leadership, which is unwilling to pursue the path of peace based on the two-state solution, will not be able to provide the security that its people need. He stressed that Israelis cannot believe that security solutions alone will guarantee their safety and allow them to continue their lives as usual while Palestinians live in misery and injustice. The king continued, "In the absence of a political horizon, there will be no future of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians."
He pointed out that "our responsibility at this moment is not limited to enforcing humanitarian intervention and ending this horrendous war but also to recognizing that the current path is one on which no party wins." He warned that if the situation remains as it is in the coming days, it could lead to a continuing war of conflicting narratives about who has the right to hate more and kill more, and that extremism, revenge, and persecution will increase, not only in the region but globally.
He emphasized that the priority is to make a concerted international effort to develop a regional framework for peace, security, and prosperity built on Palestinian-Israeli peace based on the two-state solution. He questioned whether there are realistic alternatives to the two-state solution, saying, "It is hard to imagine any of them. The one-state solution would force Israel's identity to absorb competing national identities, while a non-state solution would deprive Palestinians of their rights and dignity."
He concluded, "It is upon leaders with a sense of responsibility to work towards achieving results starting now. This work will not be easy, but it is necessary. There is no victory in the massacre we are witnessing, and no one will win unless Palestinians gain their rights and statehood. This alone will represent a true victory for peace, for both Palestinians and Israelis. And it will also be, more than anything else, a victory for our shared humanity."
