Speech of His Majesty King Abdullah II At the 24th Arab Summit

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate

God’s blessing and peace be upon Prophet Mohammad, the Faithful Arab Prophet.

Your Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani,
Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,
Your Excellency Secretary General of the Arab League,

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.

It is my pleasure to extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude to my brother Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and his country for hosting the 24th ordinary session of the Arab summit, His Excellency President Jalal Talabani and Iraq for hosting the previous summit, and to the Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Arab and staff for their efforts in ensuring the success of our meeting.

This summit convenes at a time when the Arab region is facing several challenges and dangers. It is still suffering from the dangerous consequences of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the absence of a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question. Furthermore, the situation in Syria is escalating, day after day, to dangerous levels, bringing from time to time omens of regional confrontations that could lead, God forbid, to catastrophic consequences. Some other Arab nations are facing security and rebuilding challenges after the transformations they have witnessed.

The international community is required to shoulder its responsibilities and intensify efforts to restore confidence between the Palestinians and Israelis, and revive peace talks to build on progress made so far and resolve all final status issues that can ultimately lead to the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state, on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions. The international community is also required to exercise pressure on Israel to stop unilateral measures which hinder the achievement of peace, mainly continued settlement activities in the West Bank, which aim at changing the demographics in Jerusalem, by evicting Arab residents from East Jerusalem. Israel also poses threats to Islamic and Christian holy places in the city, and attempts to impose a new reality in the Al Haram Al Sharif compound.

Jordan will continue to carry out its religious and historic duties in safeguarding Jerusalem and its holy sites, and supporting its Arab residents to remain in their land and stand firm against Israeli plans with all possible means, and in full coordination with our Palestinian brethren. We look forward to the support of our Arab brothers for our efforts to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.

Your Majesties, Highnesses and Excellencies,

The escalating situation in Syria requires a swift joint action by all parties to find a comprehensive solution that puts an end to violence and bloodshed in Syria, alleviates the suffering of its people and safeguards its territorial integrity.

The consequences of the Syrian crisis have added huge and exceptional burdens on neighbouring countries, on us in Jordan as well as other neighbours, as a result of the influx of a large number of refugees. Jordan has been receiving hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees despite its limited resources and difficult economic conditions. In this regard, I would like to thank our Arab brothers who have helped us in the efforts of hosting our brotherly Syrians.

Again, I would like to thank Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani for the excellent preparation of the summit and the Qatari people for their genuine hospitality.