King sends letter to committee on Palestinians’ inalienable rights

• His Majesty reiterates need for immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza
• King urges unified international efforts to enhance humanitarian response to deteriorating situation in Gaza
•  King warns of dangers of systematic extremist settler attacks against Palestinians in West Bank, frequent violations of Jerusalem's Muslim, Christian holy sites
• His Majesty reaffirms centrality of Palestinian cause

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah has stressed the need to unify international efforts to enhance the humanitarian response to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, noting that Jordan will continue to provide humanitarian, relief, and medical aid by land and air to the Strip.

In a letter to Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People Cheikh Niang to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People which falls on 29 November, His Majesty reiterated the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, according to a Royal Court statement. 

The King called on the international community to launch an effective effort to restore stability, which will not be achieved by killing, terrorising and displacing innocent civilians, but by creating a political horizon that enables the Palestinian people to gain their legitimate rights.

His Majesty said the Israeli aggression over the past year has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, injured more than 100,000, displaced around 1.9 million people, and caused unprecedented destruction, destroying 87 per cent of buildings, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and vital buildings almost completely, the statement said. 

The King pointed to Israeli actions that targeted humanitarian aid workers and bombed the buildings of international organisations where thousands of displaced people had taken refuge, most notably UNRWA, which has an indispensable role and requires urgent support.

His Majesty reiterated Jordan’s absolute rejection of all attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue as well as attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the statement. 

The King warned of the dangers of systematic extremist settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as frequent violations of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, which continue to take place amid inaction by the Israeli government.

His Majesty reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause, and the need to preserve the historical and legal status quo of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, as well as the need to exert all efforts to safeguard them under the Hashemite Custodianship.

The King said the Palestinians’ are committed to their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent, sovereign, and viable state on the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the two-state solution, the statement said. 

His Majesty commended the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its efforts in supporting the Palestinian people during these difficult times.