Jordan’s King Abdullah stresses Muslims’ eternal right to Jerusalem

King Abdullah of Jordan stressed on Sunday that Jerusalem is the “key to peace” and pointed out that the Palestinians and Muslims have an eternal right to the holy city, Assabeel has reported.

“We have exerted every possible effort, through direct cooperation with our brothers the Arab leaders, to face all historical challenges which are facing our nation,” explained the Jordanian monarch. The Palestinians, he said, are committed to peace and the two-state solution; their renunciation of violence is clear evidence of this.

“It is our collective duty to stand with [the Palestinians] and to support their steadfastness in their struggle to gain their legitimate rights to independent statehood and to live in peace and security,” he insisted. “It is our duty and our shared responsibility as an Arab group, and it is the duty of the international community to provide the necessary support for Palestinian refugees, and to work towards enabling the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to continue to provide its humanitarian and social services until a fair and just solution is reached to the cause of the refugees.”

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King Abdullah, who headed the Arab League last year, told the 28th summit of the organisation in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, about the Hashemite Kingdom’s custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem. “We will continue coordinating with our brothers in the Palestinian Authority, with your support, to continue bearing this responsibility.”

In closing, he made reference to the “continuous” efforts to undermine any attempts by the Israelis to change the identity of the holy city or the status quo.