LONDON: Jordan鈥檚 Queen Rania on Tuesday discussed the global effects of Israel鈥檚 war on Gaza and called for a just solution to the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Speaking during a session at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2024 in Los Angeles on Monday, she said the war has 鈥渆xposed old fractures鈥� and 鈥渄ivided people along new battle lines,鈥� which has contributed to a growing global polarization.

鈥淧olarization leads to binary thinking; it makes us think of our world as us versus them, left versus right, East versus West,鈥� she added. 鈥淎nd even though that might give us a false sense of security that we belong in a certain camp, it actually inadvertently really puts constraints on us because it kind of limits the way we think, what we should do, what we should say and, more importantly, it makes us look at everybody outside our camp as the rival, as the enemy.

鈥淧eace cannot be achieved through violence 鈥� it has to be achieved through negotiations, political process, evenhandedness and commitment (and) the only way that we can achieve security in our part of the world is through a negotiated peace, where Palestinians have not a promise of statehood, but actual statehood.

鈥淚t all comes back down to an illegal occupation. You want safety and security, we need to end the occupation, because you cannot have a safe and secure Israel while there is a grave injustice on their border.鈥�

Queen Rania highlighted the divisions and sense of 鈥渟elective empathy鈥� that exist in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said people increasingly feel forced to choose sides, causing the 鈥渕iddle ground to shrink year after year.鈥�

She told delegates: 鈥淲hen it comes to the Palestinians, I think they鈥檝e been pushed to the periphery, where their suffering has become almost unnoticed, and where they become almost a people unto whom anything can happen without consequence.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important for us to actually find that middle ground. People should put people first. What Palestinians want is not sympathy or special treatment; they just want the impartial application of the law.鈥�

Queen Rania also spoke about the number of civilian deaths during the war in Gaza, which began after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, and noted that it has claimed the lives of more doctors, aid workers and journalists than any other conflict, as well as 14,500 children.

Regardless of whether Israel鈥檚 actions during the conflict can officially be categorized as genocide or not, many people are dying and the very fact that people are even discussing whether such a designation is justified was 鈥渟hocking鈥� enough in itself, she said.

The world expressed its collective anger over the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, she added, so why, she asked, do the mass deaths in Gaza not warrant the same response?

鈥淵ou have to give human life equal value and you have to place equal condemnation on human rights violations,鈥� said the queen. 鈥淵ou cannot have credibility without moral consistency.鈥�

The US has a very important role to play in the war because it is the single most powerful country in terms of its leverage on Israel, she said, and so much depends on how willing Washington is to use its 鈥減olitical capital鈥� to hold Israeli authorities accountable for their actions.

鈥淭he starting point needs to be a legal framework that is recognized by the international community, and then a commitment from the US to hold Israel accountable when it doesn鈥檛 stick to the terms, of course,鈥� said Queen Rania.

She added that there is a need for Israelis and Palestinians to 鈥渟tart to heal the wounds and to try to build the trust that has been lost now as a result of years of suffering, and we have a responsibility to try to stand behind a vision that delivers the people there the security and the future they deserve.鈥�

The theme for the 27th annual Milken Institute Global Conference, which began on Sunday and concludes on Wednesday, is 鈥淪haping a Shared Future.鈥� Specific topics of discussion on the agenda include geopolitical hot spots, the climate crisis, and the rise of artificial intelligence.