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LONDON: The war in Gaza is “one of the darkest moments” in the UN’s history, Jordan’s King Abdullah II told the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

The UNGA “was born 80 years ago, pledging to learn from, not repeat, history. The world vowed never again,” he said.

“However, for almost as long, Palestinians have been living through a cruel cycle yet again; bombed indiscriminately yet again; killed, injured and maimed yet again; displaced and dispossessed yet again; denied rights, dignity, their basic humanity yet again.

“So I must ask, how long? How long will it be before we find a resolution to this conflict, one that safeguards the rights of all sides and allows a level of normalcy in the lives of the families at its core?”

King Abdullah said the ongoing suffering has made him “question the worth and utility of words in capturing the magnitude of the crisis, yet not speaking about it would signal acceptance of the situation and abandonment of our humanity, and that I won’t do.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict “remains unique” among the ones the UN has dealt with over eight decades, he added.

“It’s the longest-standing conflict in the world, an illegal occupation of a helpless population by a self-declared democratic nation, and a flagrant violation of repeated UN resolutions, international law and human rights conventions, a failure that should’ve elicited outrage and action, especially from major democracies. Instead, it has been met with decades of inertia.”

He reminded the assembly that the Palestinian cause “has remained on the UN agenda for its entire eight-decade existence,” adding: “How long will we be satisfied with condemnation after condemnation without concrete action?”

King Abdullah criticized the double standards with which Israel is treated, saying: “The current Israeli government’s provocative calls for a so-called Greater Israel can only be realized through the blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors, and there’s nothing great about that.”

He added: “I can’t help but wonder if a similar outrageous call were made by an Arab leader, would it be met with the same global apathy?”

Urging the international community to “stop entertaining the illusion” that Israel is a willing partner for peace, he warned that its ongoing violations of international law risk inciting “a religious war that would reach far beyond the region and lead to an all-out clash that no nation would be able to escape.”

King Abdullah, who is set to join a delegation of Arab and Muslim leaders meeting with US President Donald Trump in New York to discuss peace principles and post-war governance in Gaza, praised the Jordanian people for working tirelessly to provide relief to Palestinians, even under fire.

He stressed that the two-state solution remains the only viable path to security and prosperity in the region.

“We all know that force is no foundation for security; it’s a prelude for greater violence. Repeated wars are teaching generations of Israelis and Palestinians that their only recourse is the gun. Security will only come when Palestine and Israel begin to coexist,” he said.

“For the past two years, we’ve finally seen the world’s conscience stirring in the courage of ordinary people, from every walk of life and every corner of the globe, raising their voices as one and declaring, ‘It has been too long.’

“This UN must echo that call. It has been too long, and it must act on that call until peace is a reality.”

LONDON: Official recognition of the State of Palestine by major Western nations could help end the war in Gaza and is a “nightmare” for Hamas, the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet spy agency said.

Britain, France, Canada and Australia are among at least 10 nations that have made such declarations of recognition in recent days. They came as �������� and France co-hosted a landmark UN conference on Monday with the aim of galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The move met with anger from Israel, which said such action would reward Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023.

But Ami Ayalon, who once led the domestic secret service, told The Times newspaper that the UK’s recognition of Palestine would not only help to kill off the ideology of Hamas, it is also a blow to Israeli hardliners.

“It is a very, very clear message to these two radical, violent, spoiler groups that in a way have led the region for the last 30 years,” he said.

“It is a nightmare of Hamas. It is a collapse of their ideology. They will disappear as a major political player.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Sunday that Britain would officially recognize the State of Palestine in the face of “growing horror” in Gaza, and to help keep alive the prospect of a two-state solution.

President Emmanuel Macron of France formally announced his country’s backing of the Palestinian state during the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine on Monday. He said the time for peace had come and nothing justified the war in Gaza.

Ayalon said the recognition was “very positive” and sent an important message.

“Everywhere, but especially in the Middle East, this has great, great meaning, a value,” he said. “It is crucial to create hope.”

The declarations would isolate Israel, he added, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government no longer represented the views of most Israelis. He said that 70 percent of the population believes the government should end the war, bring home the remaining hostages taken during the Hamas-led raids two years ago, and start peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Ayalon also described Israel’s recent strike on Qatar, targeting Hamas leaders gathered there, as a “mistake.” The strike, which missed its intended targets from the group’s negotiating team but killed six other people, including a Qatari security officer, was condemned by the Gulf Cooperation Council and global leaders.

“They (the military) took a decision without considering the regional ramifications it could have,” Ayalon said of the attack. “We Israelis, we made mistakes more than once by not understanding the consequences.”

Ayalon, 80, was head of Shin Bet between 1995 and 2000, before becoming an Israeli Labor Party politician and minister.

He is among a raft of former senior Israeli military and security officials who have criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, resulted in famine in some areas, and been branded a genocide by UN-commissioned experts.

There also appears to be growing opposition within the present-day Israeli security establishment. The country’s external security agency, Mossad, refused to carry out a ground operation in Qatar targeting the Hamas officials, the Washington Post reported.

And military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly opposed Netanyahu’s plans to expand the conflict in Gaza through a full military takeover of Gaza City, which is currently unfolding.