The Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein received the presidency of the Summit "Amman Summit" at its 28th ordinary session from Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of 27th Arab Summit, announcing the opening of 28th Arab Summit. The Jordanian King delivered the following speech: We stand today before grave challenges to the fate of our countries, peoples, and our nation. First is the threat of terrorism and extremism, which has set out to tarnish the image of our religion and hijack the future of young Arabs. It is therefore our duty to protect them from distortions to their religious and ideological beliefs, since terrorism poses a greater threat to Arabs and Muslims, who make up the majority of its victims. We must work together and with the world to counter this danger through a holistic approach. Second is Israel’s continued settlement expansion and its work to undermine chances for peace. There can be no peace nor stability in the region without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, the core issue of the Middle East, based on the two-state solution. Jordan is closest to the Palestinian cause. Our martyrs have fallen while defending Palestinian land, and we are aware of the daily struggle of the Palestinian people, Jerusalemites in particular. The Hashemite Custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem is a historical responsibility Jordan is honored to undertake on behalf of the Arab and Muslim nations. We will continue to fight against any attempts to change the status quo and to stand up against attempts for temporal and spatial division of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, with your support and assistance. We must all work as one to safeguard Jerusalem and prevent attempts to create new facts on the ground that would have catastrophic consequences on the region’s future and stability. --More 15:21 LOCAL TIME 12:21 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w364884