Jordan Times
Friday, May 18, 2007
King urges end to Gaza
infighting
By Mohammad Ghazal
AQABA — King Abdullah on Thursday called on Palestinian factions to end their
infighting in the Gaza Strip, where Fateh-Hamas clashes killed around 50 people
since Sunday.
“Violence must stop for the sake of the Palestinian people, and for the sake of
Palestine,” the King told prominent Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli peace
activists at a meeting organised by the Arab Centre for Democracy and Peace
Studies.
The King spoke on the same day that bloodletting continued in Gaza between the
rival Fateh and Hamas and as Israeli air forces struck the offices of Hamas’
force in the coastal strip.
The Monarch stressed the need to “act with courage, vision and determination in
building momentum” for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
“By letting events drift, we will be looking at years of more violence and
destruction before another such opportunity opens,” he warned.
King Abdullah told 200 activists that as leaders in their own communities, they
have 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 leaders of both sides
to the conflict.
“Palestinians and Israelis want a negotiated settlement, an end to crisis and
destruction and the opportunities and benefits of peace.”
He urged activists 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.”
The Monarch addressed the group as part of his efforts to build official and
popular support for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations
within the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative.
“King Abdullah 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,” a Royal
Court statement said.
The plan offers Israel normal ties in return for its withdrawal from territories
occupied in 1967. Revived at the Arab summit in March, the peace blueprint also
calls for the creation of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian
refugees.
Israel rejected the plan when it was first launched in 2002, but has recently
said it could provide a basis for talks if amendments to the refugee issue are
made.
Senator Abdul Salam Majali, a former prime minister who heads the centre,
briefed the King on ideas and proposals that were discussed at the two-day
meeting, saying an action plan was drafted to activate the role of civil society
in promoting the peace initiative.
In a statement at the end of their informal talks, delegates stressed the need
for officials to adopt the initiative, “which constitutes a historic opportunity
to advance peace, as a framework for peace negotiations”.
They said “achieving comprehensive peace provides an environment conducive to
security, prosperity and genuine cooperation and normalisation”.
“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 mobilising Arab and Jewish groups in the world.”
The delegates also emphasised the role of Israeli public institutions and their
supporters in the effort.