King of Jordan goes on the offensive, Israel responds quietly: This is what the "narrative shift" in the Arab world looks like after 10/7
Jordan's King Abdullah II delivered a sharp speech at the UN against Israel, calling it a "regional threat" and accusing it of war crimes. Israel responded with relative silence: Prime Minister Netanyahu did not issue a direct political response, and the Foreign Ministry responded with a jab about Jordan's disengagement from Judea and Samaria in 1988. Water cooperation continues.
Jordan's King Abdullah II delivered a sharp speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, one of the harshest heard against Israel recently. The king devoted a significant portion of his remarks to the war in Gaza, the situation in Judea and Samaria, and Israeli activity in southern Syria. He accused the Israeli government of war crimes and "expansionist appetites," and claimed that Israel is working to create a reality that would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The king also criticized the international community for choosing to manage the conflict instead of resolving it. Israel responded with relative silence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not issue a direct and detailed political response to the speech. He referred to the king's words in a video he released, but did so mainly to attack Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman. The Foreign Ministry responded with a jab, recalling King Hussein's 1988 decision to sever administrative and legal ties with Judea and Samaria, claiming that Palestinian residents were denied Jordanian rights and citizenship. Alongside the sharp rhetoric, cooperation between Israel and Jordan in the water sector continues. A Jordanian commentator explained that the cooperation is part of the 1994 peace agreement, and there is no contradiction between it and the political dispute. In the Arab world, the speech was described as an attempt to "rearrange the narrative" since October 7, 2023, and to shift the discussion to issues of occupation and international law.