King Abdullah of Jordan sounds alarm: Middle East 'doomed' without a Palestinian state

King Abdullah II of Jordan has warned that the Middle East is doomed unless there is a peace process leading to a Palestinian state.

Abdullah made these remarks in an exclusive interview for BBC Panorama, ahead of attending the Gaza peace summit in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday.

"If we do not solve this problem. If we do not find a future for Israelis and Palestinians and a relationship between the Arab and Muslim worlds and Israel, we are doomed," King Abdullah told the BBC

The summit, attended by about 27 global leaders, was held on a day Hamas released the last living Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

The King of Jordon, in the BBC interview, spoke about earlier failed attempts at peace. He said the implementation of a two-state solution - the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, alongside Israel - was the only answer.

"I hope we can move things back, but with a political horizon, because if we don't solve this problem, we're going to be at it again," the king said.

What is the two-state solution?

The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine.

Last month, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on reaffirmed the body's stance that “statehood for Palestinians is a right, not a reward”.

“The Two-State solution is the only credible path to a just & lasting peace between Israelis & Palestinians and to wider peace & security in the Middle East,” Guterres said in a post on X.

The remarks by Guterres came a day after United Kingdom, Canada and Australia officially recognised Palestine as a state on 21 September. The move is seen as a significant shift in the foreign policy of these nations and a step away from their alignment with the United States, which has leaned towards Israel under the Donald Trump administration.

Palestine is currently recognised by around 75 per cent of the UN's 193 member states. At the UN, Palestine has the status of a "permanent observer state", allowing participation but no voting rights.

The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected a two-state solution.

What happened at Sharm El-Sheikh?

Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host the Sharm El Sheikh summit on Monday, after the US president first visits Israel to speak at the Knesset and meet families of the hostages.

In his speech at Sharm El-Sheikh, Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East and urged countries to sign the Abraham Accords and work towards advancing broader peace in the region, following his visit to Israel to celebrate a US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas.

What are the Abraham Accords?

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” Trump said, and he urged leaders “to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past.”

The Abraham Accords are a series of US-brokered agreements that normalise diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations. The initial agreements were signed in 2020 by Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain

(With agency inputs)