King Abdullah II address to the 80th UN General Assembly, 23 Sep 2025

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Madam President, Mr. Secretary General, Your Excellencies:

Another year, another UN General Assembly, and another occasion when I stand before you to address the same issue: the conflict in the Middle East.

Our UN General Assembly was born 80 years ago, pledging to learn from — not repeat — history. The world vowed: Never again. However, for almost as long, Palestinians have been living through a cruel cycle of "yet again". Bombed indiscriminately… yet again. Killed, injured, and maimed… yet again. Displaced and dispossessed… yet again. Denied rights, dignity… their basic humanity… Yet. Again.

So, I must ask… how long?

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains unique: it is the longest-standing conflict in the world. An illegal occupation of a helpless population by a self-declared "democratic nation". A flagrant violation of repeated UN resolutions, international law, and human rights conventions — a failure that should have elicited outrage and action, especially from major democracies… instead, it has been met with decades of inertia.

The war in Gaza marks one of the darkest moments in this institution's history. More than 60 thousand Palestinians killed; 50 thousand children injured or killed. Miles of burnt-out rubble. Neighbourhoods, hospitals, schools, farms, even mosques and churches, in ruins. Widespread starvation.

Almost two years in, and the cruelty of this military campaign continues unabated.

**Furthermore, the current Israeli government's provocative calls for a so-called "Greater Israel" can only be realised through the blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours — and there's nothing great about that.** I can't help but wonder … if a similar outrageous call were made by an Arab leader … would it be met with the same global apathy?

The international community must stop entertaining the illusion that this government is a willing partner for peace. Far from it… its actions on the ground are dismantling the very foundations on which peace could stand, and intentionally burying the very idea of a Palestinian State.

It has shown how little it respects the sovereignty of other countries… as we have seen in its flagrant violations in **Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Tunisia, and most recently… Qatar!**

And its hostile rhetoric calling for the targeting of Al Aqsa Mosque will incite a religious war that would reach far beyond the region and lead to an all-out clash that no nation would be able to escape.

How long before we hold all nations to the same standards? How long before we recognise the Palestinians as people who aspire to the same things you and I do — and we act on that recognition? **How long before we recognise that statehood is not something Palestinians need to earn? It is not a reward — it is an indisputable right.**

In Jordan, we are determined to work for a world in which people are secure in their homes, are safe to practice their faiths, and are able to live and thrive in dignity.

As Custodians of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, we safeguard these holy places against actions that violate the city's legal and historical status quo. Compromising the delicate balance in the Holy City will turn it into a tinderbox that ignites global conflict.

And Jordan is serving as the main base for the international humanitarian response in Gaza… working by all possible means to provide critical supplies of aid and food.

We all know that force is no foundation for security; it is a prelude for greater violence. Repeated wars are teaching generations of Israelis and Palestinians that their only recourse… is the gun.

Security will only come when Palestine and Israel begin to co-exist side by side. This is the two-state solution, in line with international law and UN resolutions: an independent and viable Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside a secure Israel, living in peace with its neighbours.

For almost a quarter-century, this has been the promise of the Arab Peace Initiative — in which Arab and Muslim partners around the globe extended their hand.

This United Nations must echo that call: It has been too long. And it must act on that call… until peace is a reality.

Thank you.