King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday sought international solidarity over the shared religious character of Jerusalem.
King Abdullah said in his address to the UN General Assembly that as custodian he was “bound by a special duty to protect Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites.
“But all of us have a stake and a moral obligation to uphold religious freedom and human rights,” he said. “So let us safeguard the holy city for all humanity, as a unifying city of peace.
“It begins with respect for the holy sites and rejecting all attempts to alter the legal status of East Jerusalem.
“What lessons do we teach young people, when armed personnel enter Al Aqsa Mosque or Haram Al Sharif, even as Muslim worshippers gather to pray?”
King Abdullah also raised concerns over the prospect of Israeli politicians pushing for one-state solutions.
“If the policy is to annex the West Bank, then that is going to have a major impact on the Israeli-Jordanian relationship and on the Egyptian-Israeli relationship, because we are the only two Arab countries that have peace with Israel,” he said.
The king said there was no option other than the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
“The two-state solution is the only genuine solution. Because what is the alternative? One state, segregated, with unequal laws, dependent on force, betraying the deepest values of the good people on both sides?
“That is a formula for enduring conflict, not a path to stability, security and peace.”