"Two-state solution is the only path going forward," says Jordan's FM at UN summit

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called for urgent international action to preserve the two-state solution during the United Nations conference on a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian issue, which officially opened today in New York.

The high-level summit is co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.

In his remarks, Safadi expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia and France for their “commitment and leadership” in bringing together global partners to address the crisis.

Safadi reaffirmed Jordan’s position that achieving a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the region must be based on the two-state solution, calling it “the only path going forward.”

“Now is the time to act,” he stressed. “If we do not, the realities on the ground will continue to render that solution inviable with each passing day.”

Safadi also pushed back against claims that recognition of a Palestinian state should only come as a result of negotiations.

“We agreed that recognizing the Palestinian state is a must, and to those who argue that this should be the outcome of negotiations, I ask: where are the negotiations?” he said.

“There are no negotiations. The Palestinians are ready to negotiate today, but we do not have an Israeli partner to negotiate with.”

Safadi added, “So if they are not willing to sit at the table and negotiate a two-state solution—which the whole world agrees is the path forward—then they can't veto us from doing what we all believe in.”

He also stressed the urgent need to halt "Israeli" unilateral actions that undermine the two-state solution, including settlement expansion, land confiscation, encroachment on holy sites, and attempts to change the demographic composition of the West Bank and Gaza.

Safadi concluded by emphasizing what he said should have been the starting point: that the catastrophe in Gaza cannot continue.