A Conversation with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan | Global Conference 2024

Global Humanitarian Context

• The United Nations estimates nearly 300 million people globally will require humanitarian assistance and relief in the coming year.
• Primary drivers for this crisis include ongoing conflicts, climate emergencies, natural disasters, and economic instability.

Analysis of Current Polarization and Conflict

• Queen Rania identifies polarization as a critical danger, noting that binary "us vs. them" thinking erodes nuance and fuels selective empathy that ignores suffering outside one's perceived camp.
• She observes that the Palestinian population has been marginalized to the periphery, where their suffering is increasingly overlooked and perceived as having "no consequences."
• Three foundational agreements for a "third way" were proposed as a starting point:
  • The current status quo is unsustainable for both Israelis and Palestinians.
  • Peace must be achieved exclusively through negotiation, political processes, and even-handedness, not violence or weapons.
  • The majority of sufferers on both sides are ordinary people seeking safety, healthcare, education, and a future for their children.

Ceasefire Negotiations and Military Operations

• A potential ceasefire is under review following Hamas's acceptance of the terms for a permanent ceasefire in the second phase of negotiations, while the Israeli Prime Minister's office evaluates the offer.
• A significant escalation occurred with the distribution of evacuation flyers in eastern Rafah, requesting 100,000 Palestinians to leave an area already housing 1.4 million people at a density of 50,000 per square mile.
• Queen Rania warned that the Israeli military's declaration of using "extreme force" in such a densely populated area makes large-scale civilian deaths highly probable.

The Two-State Solution and Geopolitical Constraints

• The Queen rejects the narrative that the two-state solution is "dead," attributing the lack of progress to a deficit in political will and commitment rather than a lack of a viable plan.
• She explicitly dismissed options for transferring Palestinian populations to Jordan or Egypt, categorizing such moves as ethnic cleansing and a war crime that would constitute a "second Nakba."
• She identified the United States as the single most critical actor due to its leverage over Israel, urging Washington to hold Israel accountable to international law rather than unconditionally supporting its government.
• She argued that short-term tactical gains for Israel via the current war are undermining the state's long-term security, reputation, and relationships with global allies.

Palestinian Authority and Internal Governance

• The Palestinian Authority (PA) suffers from low approval ratings due to perceived inefficacy and the reality of worsening living conditions under occupation.
• Queen Rania cited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's historical strategy of "divide and conquer," specifically propping up Hamas to undermine the PA and create a pretext for the claim that no Palestinian partner for peace exists.
• She noted that even a reformed PA would remain weak without the power to deliver a vision of peace or control over its own territory.

Settlements and Legal Frameworks

• The expansion of Israeli settlements is cited as a primary barrier to a contiguous Palestinian state, with a specific instance of 80 hectares of land confiscated in the West Bank in March (described as the largest land grab in 30 years).
• She described the current reality in the West Bank as a two-tiered system where Israelis and Palestinians live in the same geography but are subject to different legal regimes (civil law for settlers vs. military law for Palestinians).
• The Queen challenged the "human shields" narrative by noting that civilian casualties (estimated at 70% of total deaths, including 14,500 children) result from the use of massive unguided bombs in high-density areas, and paradoxically noted that government grants encouraging settlers to live among Palestinians constitute a state-level use of "human shields."

Call to Action for Influential Leaders

• She urged philanthropists, business leaders, and investors to look beyond political narratives and address the disconnect between rhetoric and the reality of human rights violations on the ground.
• She emphasized that moral credibility for the U.S. and the global community depends on applying consistent standards to all populations; the current failure to do so is driving disillusionment in the Arab world.
• She called for a re-humanization process, urging people to challenge biases and recognize that anti-Zionist criticism is not inherently anti-Semitism, while warning that extremists on both sides are pushing moderates toward the edges.
• The Queen concluded that long-term security for Israel is impossible without ending the illegal occupation, as the perpetuation of injustice on the border fundamentally undermines the safety of the Israeli state.