King Abdullah's speech reflects concerns of Jordanians — analysts

AMMAN — Political experts and activists on Sunday lauded His Majesty King Abdullah’s speech during the Cairo Summit for Peace, saying it reflected the concerns of the people of Jordan and exposed the Western biased towards the Israeli aggression against Palestinians.

King Abdullah participated in the one-day summit on Saturday that was hosted by Egypt as part of efforts to stop the war on Gaza, along with the participation of world leaders and heads of Arab and international delegations.

In an address to the summit, King Abdullah said the relentless bombing campaign under way in Gaza is cruel and unconscionable — on every level, describing it as collective punishment of a besieged and helpless population.

“It is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime,” King Abdullah said.

“Anywhere else, attacking civilian infrastructure and deliberately starving an entire population of food, water, electricity, and basic necessities would be condemned,” the King noted.

Director of the Phenix Centre for Economics and Informatics Studies (PCEIS) Ahmad Awad said that King Abdullah “expressed our concerns and highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza as another chapter in the long-standing Israeli occupation”.

“For many in the region, Israel's establishment was characterised by violent actions like massacres, displacement, and land seizures,” Awad told The Jordan Times.

The American administration's backing of these actions isn't unexpected, according to Awad.

However, Awad maintained, the support from Western European nations, who traditionally advocate for international law and human rights, is concerning.

They have condoned acts, such as the devastation of Gaza's infrastructure and hospital attacks, which are blatant war crimes, Awad explained.

“This selective enforcement of international standards based on race and religion is deeply troubling as the King said,” Awad stated.

Palestinians have an inherent right to resist the Israeli occupation and aspire for independence, akin to any global community, Awad stressed.

“It's alarming that the West not only supports Israel's actions but also curtails their own citizens' rights to voice solidarity with Palestinians, raising questions about its genuine commitment to human rights and international justice,” Awad added.

King Abdullah also highlighted in his speech the message the Arab world is hearing is loud and clear: Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones.

“The application of international law is optional. And human rights have boundaries — they stop at borders, they stop at races, they stop at religions,” the King said during the summit.

King Abdullah warned that the consequences of continued international apathy and inaction would be catastrophic “on us all”.

Director of the Centre for Defending Freedoms of Journalists Nidal Mansour said King Abdullah's speech at the Cairo Peace Summit clearly and without ambiguity renamed what was happening, and confronted the disinformation campaigns promoted by the Israeli occupation, and supported by many Western countries.

“The King spoke in human rights language about the crimes committed by Israel in its aggression against Gaza and the West Bank,” Mansour told The Jordan Times.

The King was firm in demanding a stop to the Israeli aggression and confronting forced displacement.

King Abdullah once again highlighted the double standards, according to Mansour.

“If this aggression had occurred in another place, the international position would have been different. Here, the King indicated that a Palestinian is no less important than an Israeli,” Mansour asserted.

The most prominent issue, Mansour added, was that the occupation “is launching a war of genocide and collective punishment because it knows that it has no accountability and gets away with it”.

The King reaffirmed in his speech in Cairo the unequivocal rejection of the forced displacement or internal displacement of the Palestinians, describing that as a war crime according to international law, “and a red line for all of us”.

The King added: “Today, Israel is literally starving civilians in Gaza, but for decades, Palestinians have been starved of hope, of freedom and a future”.

The King stressed that the Israeli leadership must realise that Palestinian lives are no less valuable than Israeli lives.

Chairperson of the National Centre for Human Rights Board of Trustees Samar Haj Hassan said the King sent a clear and firm message to the world in Cairo.

“In light of what King Abdullah confirmed about the bombing campaign on Gaza and the violation of humanitarian law, the center’s opinion confirms from a human rights perspective that this inhuman aggression and targeting of civilians, hospitals and places of worship constitute war crimes and constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” Haj Hassan said.

The Centre emphasises that the killing of civilians carried out by the occupation authorities, genocide, displacement and demolition of homes and property, and collective punishments committed against the people of the Gaza Strip are considered prohibited acts under international humanitarian law, Haj Hassan added.