King Abdullah II, Presidents El-Sisi and Macron Call for Ceasefire, Humanitarian Aid, Two-State Solution

April 11—“The war in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian suffering it is causing must end now,” begins the opinion piece “Violence, terror and war cannot bring peace to the Middle East. The two-state solution will.”

The authors are King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, and President Emmanuel Macron of France, which appeared in the April 10 Washington Post.

“On March 25, the UN Security Council finally assumed its responsibility by demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. This is a critical step that must be fully implemented without further delay,” the heads of state reiterate.

In addition to demands for hostage release and for broader negotiations including detainees, the trio write to “warn against the dangerous consequences of an Israeli offensive on Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinian civilians have sought refuge. Such an offensive would only bring more death and suffering, heighten the risks and consequences of mass displacement of the people of Gaza and threaten regional escalation. We reiterate our equal respect for all lives.”

They demand that humanitarian agencies, explicitly including the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which Israel seeks to destroy, “be protected and granted full access, including in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.”

Regarding the provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, they urge respect for Jordan’s responsibility for overseeing holy sites in Jerusalem.

“The establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution, in accordance with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to live side by side in peace and security with Israel, is the only way to achieve true peace,” they conclude.