Jordan Times
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Bakhit calls for unified
stance on Palestine, Iraq
DEAD SEA (Petra) — Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on Saturday highlighted His
Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts, along with other Arab countries, to form a
unified stance vis-ŕ-vis regional issues, in particular the Palestinian
question.
Participating in a session entitled, “Stability in the Broader Middle East: Who
Is Taking the Lead?” on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the
premier said the various UN Security Council resolutions on the Palestinian
issue lacked the correct implementation mechanisms.
Bakhit said the world has adopted what he called crisis-management techniques to
deal with the conflict, focusing on the symptoms rather than addressing the root
cause, which remains unsolved for the past 59 years.
Highlighting the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for a full Israeli
withdrawal to the 1967 borders in return for full peace accords with the Arab
states, Bakhit said it deserves to be fully supported as a means to breaking the
current deadlock.
Panellists participating in the session included Afghan President Hamid Karzai,
Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman Ben Hamad Al Khalifa, Pakistani Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz, Prince Turki Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki.
Karzai, who gave a brief analysis of the current situation in Afghanistan, said
the international intervention in his country had freed it from the grip of
terrorists.
He said living conditions were improving despite ongoing attacks and civilian
casualties.
In reply to a question concerning the withdrawal of foreign forces from
Afghanistan, Karzai said their departure at this point would be premature and
lead to an increase in people’s suffering.
For his part, the Bahraini crown prince underlined his country’s role in
supporting of the Palestinian cause and expressed concern over the situation in
Iraq.