Jordanian King Threatens Israel With “Sea of Hatred”

Jordan’s King Abdullah used his turn to speak at the United Nations General Assembly to threaten Israel with “a sea of hatred” if a Palestinian state fails to materialize.

“No injustice has spread more bitter fruit than the denial of a Palestinian state. I say: Peace is a conscious decision. Israel has to embrace peace or eventually be engulfed in a sea of hatred in a region of turmoil,” Abdullah said.

In the speech, he also condemned Islamic terrorism. “Let me state clearly that these radical outlaw groups do not exist on the fringes of Islam, they are altogether outside of it. Thus we refer to them as khawarej, outlaws of Islam.”

In a reference to allegations made by Jordan and the Palestinians that Israel has been seeking to usurp Jordanian supervision of Har Habayis, he said:

“As the Custodian of Islamic holy sites in Yerushalayim, I will continue my efforts to protect these places, and stand up against all violations of their sanctity, including attempts for temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif.”

Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected accusations, insisting that it desires only to uphold the status quo. Joint talks between Israel and Jordan about setting up security cameras at the site to discourage incitement and violence broke down.