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Accept Palestine or face ‘sea of hatred,’ Jordanian king warns Israel

'Peace is a conscious decision. Israel has to embrace peace or eventually be engulfed in a sea of hatred in a region of turmoil'

Gabriel Samuels
Thursday 22 September 2016 17:30 BST
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King Abdullah of Jordan addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York
King Abdullah of Jordan addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York (Getty)

The king of Jordan has publicly warned Israel it faces a “sea of hatred” if it refuses to accept a Palestinian state.

King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein told the UN General Assembly in New York that a resolution could and must be reached between Israelis and Palestinians before more blood was shed, before accusing the Jewish State of trying to alter the identity of the city of Jerusalem.

“No injustice has spread more bitter fruit than the denial of a Palestinian state,” the king said.

“Peace is a conscious decision. Israel has to embrace peace or eventually be engulfed in a sea of hatred in a region of turmoil.

“As the Custodian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, I will continue my efforts to protect these places, and stand up against all violations of their sanctity.”

At the same conference, US president Barack Obama told Israel it cannot permanently occupy and settle on Palestinian land.

In August, King Abdullah stated his intention to take action against the “repeated violations and attacks carried out by Israel” at the Temple Mount site in the Old City of Jerusalem - a holy place in both Judaism and Islam.

The king has previously stated his opposition to Israel’s actions towards Palestinians and stated he believes “Israel is not interested in peace”.

King Abdullah used the remainder of his speech to discuss terrorist activity, and his desire for the world to differentiate between Islam and terrorism - the aim of which he said was to “erase human civilisation” and “drag us back to the dark ages”.

“These radical outlaw groups do not exist on the fringes of Islam, they are altogether outside of it. Thus we refer to them as ‘kharwarej’, or outlaws of Islam,” he said.

It comes after it was reported Russian president Vladimir Putin wishes to host peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Moscow in the near future, which he hopes could help end the conflict

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