Petra News Agency
Thursday, May 17, 2007
King urges Palestinian
Factions to End Internal Fighting in Gaza
Aqaba, May 17 (Petra) – His Majesty King Abdullah II on Thursday urged
Palestinian factions to end internal fighting in Gaza. He said the violence must
stop for the sake of the Palestinian people, and for the sake of Palestine.
Addressing a gathering of prominent peace activists, King Abdullah stressed the
need to act with courage, vision, and determination in building momentum for
peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. By letting events drift,
he added "we will be looking at years of more violence and destruction before
another such opportunity opens."
The meeting in Aqaba which included Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian activists
was organized by the Arab Center for Democracy and Peace Studies.
King Abdullah told the group that as leaders in their own communities, they had
a prominent and urgent role to play in achieving peace and stability in the
Middle East. "2007 is a decision point. The Arab countries are unified behind
the Arab Peace Initiative," he said noting that amid new international will to
solve the crisis, the peace process is commanding new attention from leadership
on both sides.
King Abdullah told the gathering that Palestinians and Israelis want a
negotiated settlement, an end to crisis and destruction and the opportunities
and benefits of peace.
He urged them to empower every generation, especially youth, to reclaim their
future from the divisions and violence of the past. "Your leadership is needed
to help people create a new and believable vision for our region," King Abdullah
said. "Too many people know what it is to feel anger, sorrow, and grievance.
Help them remember the solidarity of successful peace – the hope; the
empowerment; the sense of new opportunity."
Chairman of the Arab Center for Democracy and Peace Studies, Dr. Abdul Salam
Majali, briefed His Majesty on the ideas and proposals that were discussed. The
two-day meeting, he said, was intended to draft action plans to activate the
role of civil society in promoting the Arab Peace Initiative.
Majali said the Arab Peace Initiative is in line with His Majesty's efforts to
serve the cause of peace and revive the long stalled peace process through
serious negotiations on the basis of the initiative.
Mazin Sonnoqrot, one of the participants in the conference said that the
Jordanian commitment to achieving peace and improving life standards of
Palestinians express itself through the huge efforts exerted by His Majesty King
Abdullah to move forward the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.
Knesset Member Michael Melchior said “Everyone here knows where we want to head
and how far we are from that goal”, adding that the Aqaba meeting came to reduce
the gap between these two places and to announce commitment to achieving this
goal.
“The only problem we face is the real courage leadership, so we look to King
Abdullah to lead us, guide us and inspire us to walk in this path.” He stressed.
King Abdullah has held a series of meetings with Jordanian, Palestinian and
Israeli peace activists to encourage the voice of moderation and coexistence and
foster peace by promoting the Arab proposal and garnering more support for it.
In a statement at the end of their meetings, delegates stressed the need for
officials to adopt the initiative, which constitutes a historic opportunity to
advance peace, as a framework for peace negotiations.
The communiqué also said achieving comprehensive peace provides an environment
conducive to security, prosperity and genuine cooperation and normalization. It
added that the deliberations reinforced the potential for cooperation in
promoting the Arab Peace Initiative whereby an action plan was developed in the
form of a non-governmental steering committee.
The plan aims to promote the initiative by reaching out to forums in the region
and abroad, widening the circle of participation and mobilizing Arab and Jewish
groups in the world. The delegates also emphasized the role of Israeli public
institutions and their supporters in the effort.