Jordan Times
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Terrorists try to divide Arabs
— King
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday said the recent terrorist
attacks on Amman will not stop Jordan's active role to help achieve regional
peace and security.
King Abdullah told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was on a brief
solidarity visit, that intensified international efforts were needed to combat
terrorism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Offering her condolences, Rice stressed Washington's support for Amman and
commended Jordanian security forces.
King Abdullah and Rice also discussed Middle East developments.
After her meeting with the Monarch, Rice visited the wreckage at the bombed
Radisson SAS Hotel.
She was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying: "We stand with them as they
have stood with us in times of need and times of sorrow."
"We will all stand until terrorism is defeated and until those who simply want
to live a normal life and to live in peace can return to the days when this sort
of tragedy, this sort of outrage does not happen," she added.
"There is no justification for the wanton killing of innocents."
Rice, on a regional tour, was to return to Israel later Monday after delaying
her scheduled departure to Asia, putting her personal influence behind torturous
efforts to nail down a deal to reopen Gaza's border with Egypt.
On Sunday, King Abdullah announced that authorities arrested a woman who was a
member of the suicide bombers who carried out attacks on three Amman hotels on
Wednesday.
Iraq's Al Qaeda, led by Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the
almost simultaneous blasts at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels
— which killed 57 people and injured 100. The statement said four Iraqis,
including a husband and wife, carried out the attacks.
The women's arrest highlighted the role of security forces and reassured
Jordanians, who headed back to work as life appeared to be returning to normal
on Monday (see stories on pages 2, 3).
In the days after the triple hotel bombings, residents of Amman and other cities
in the Kingdom held angry protests condemning Al Qaeda and demanding Zarqawi's
death (see story on page 3).
Also on Monday, King Abdullah received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who
arrived yesterday "to express support for Jordan," a Royal Court statement said.
King Abdullah told Abbas that terrorists try to divide Arabs, stressing the fact
that Iraqis carried out the attacks will not affect the relations between Jordan
and Iraq.
Terrorism, the Monarch said, "will not stop Jordan from continuing its historic
role in defending the Palestinian cause until a just peace that restore rights
of the Palestinians is achieved."
For his part, Abbas expressed his deepest sympathies on the death of the suicide
attacks' victims and commended the Jordanian security apparatus.
The Palestinian president, meanwhile, visited Radisson SAS and the Grand Hyatt
hotels and inspected the damage caused by the bombings.