Jordan Times
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
King pushes for peace
Monarch meets with Gates, US, Israeli activists
AMMAN (Agencies) — King Abdullah sought to rally support for the Arab peace plan
in talks Tuesday with visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, saying the
plan underpinned the Arabs' desire for a peaceful settlement with Israel.
The King, an advocate of a peaceful Arab-Israeli settlement, has been pushing
for reviving the peace process on the basis of the Arab plan, introduced by
Saudi Arabia in 2002 and revived during an Arab summit in Riyadh last month.
According to a Royal Court statement, King Abdullah told Gates that there is a
"need to support the Arab Peace Initiative, which reflects the Arab willingness
to establish peace with Israel and end decades of Arab-Israeli conflict".
The statement quoted the Monarch as telling Gates that the "Palestinian-Israeli
problem remains the core conflict in the region and that international and
regional actors should make the establishment of an independent Palestinian
state a priority in order to realise regional peace and stability". The King
also reiterated the "importance of advancing peace in the region in accordance
with a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the statement
said.
The King also urged Israel to respond "positively" to the Arab plan, saying it
offered a "rare opportunity" for Palestinian-Israeli peacemaking.
The initiative envisages full Arab recognition of Israel in return for an
Israeli withdrawal from territories captured in the 1967 Middle East war. It
also calls for Palestinian statehood.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has praised the plan, calling its full
recognition of Israel a major breakthrough in Arab relations with the Jewish
state. But he has flatly rejected the plan's demand for the return of
Palestinian refugees displaced in wars.
King Abdullah also rallied for the Arab peace plan in a meeting Monday with a
group of Palestinian peace activists.
Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib voiced similar remarks to his Israeli
counterpart Tzipi Livni during her visit here Sunday. On Thursday, Jordan will
host Israeli Knesset Speaker Dalia Yitzik for more talks on the plan.
Gates arrived here Monday on the first leg of a regional tour. His talks with
the King focused on "bilateral relations, particularly in the field of defence,
and political developments in the Middle East", as well as the war-wracked Iraq,
the statement said.
King Abdullah said that the "inclusion of all Iraqis in the political process
was the only guarantee for a better future to the country".
Later Tuesday, King Abdullah met with a group of American peace activists and
the Israel Policy Forum as part of his efforts to rally Arab, Israeli and
international cooperation to push the peace process forward.
The Monarch said the Israel Policy Forum, which supports the resumption of
negotiations between the Palestinians and calls for a political settlement
through a two-state solution, could be an effective partner to help moderates
and pacifists achieve those objectives, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The forum was founded in 1993 in the wake of a Palestinian-Israeli framework for
a peace deal to mobilise American Jews to support the peace process in the
Middle East.