Jordan Times
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
King backs Palestinian
vote
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh with agency dispatches
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday said establishing an independent
Palestinian state requires complete commitment to roadmap to the Middle East
peace.
King Abdullah told a top Palestinian delegation,
led by PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas, that Israel's planned pullout from the Gaza
Strip should be part of the internationally backed roadmap and the start of a
complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.
The King called on Palestinians to follow through on efforts aimed at achieving
a viable Palestinian state as soon as possible, the Jordan News Agency, Petra,
reported.
The roadmap, which envisages an independent Palestinian state by 2005, was
stalled after both sides failed to abide by its articles. Earlier this year,
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced plans to withdraw from Gaza and
four West Bank settlements as part of his unilateral disengagement plan.
But since President Yasser Arafat's death on Nov. 11, both sides gave out
positive signals about cooperation for the resumption of peace negotiations as
well as the Palestinian presidential election, slated for Jan. 9.
The King expressed Jordan's support for the Palestinian leadership's efforts to
successfully hold the upcoming election, saying the country would press on the
international community to help Palestinians achieve a suitable environment for
the voting process, according to Petra.
King Abdullah said his recent meetings with senior European officials focused on
extending international support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and helping
its leadership build local institutions that would be able to face challenges.
The King said he would discuss with President George W. Bush and US officials
during his upcoming visit ways to support current Palestinian efforts towards
establishing an independent state and restoring regional peace.
Abbas, who is the front-runner in the election, was quoted by Petra as briefing
the King on recent developments on the Palestinian front following Arafat's
death and the measures taken by the PA to put its internal house in order and
set the stage for the poll.
The Palestinian delegation included Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and interim
president, Rawhi Fattouh. The officials, on their first tour of Arab nations
since Arafat's death, arrived in Amman Sunday evening from Egypt following talks
with President Hosni Mubarak, UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen and Arab
League Secretary General Amr Musa.
In earlier remarks to the press and after his meeting with Prime Minister Faisal
Fayez, Abbas urged Jordan to help the Palestinian leadership carry out its
duties and prepare for the electoral process.
Abbas gave no further details, but said: “We asked our Jordanian brothers to
help us as much as they can.”
During his hour-long meeting with the delegation, Fayez pledged the country's
support for the Palestinian election and its keenness to help revive the peace
process with Israel in order to achieve regional security and stability.
Deputy Prime Minister and acting Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, meanwhile,
expressed optimism following his morning meeting with Palestinian officials,
saying there was a real opportunity to revive the peace process. “We heard today
a clear, certain and serious commitment on the part of the Palestinians to
implement the roadmap and we hope it will be met by a commitment from the
Israeli side,” Muasher said. “There is a real opportunity to revive the peace
process.”
But, he said, “a commitment to the roadmap does not only entail a security
clampdown on the part of the Palestinians. It also calls for an Israeli pullout
to guarantee the success of Palestinian election.”
Landmark visit to Syria
Abbas, meanwhile, told reporters Palestinian leaders are expected to visit
Damascus on Dec. 6 for talks with Syrian officials.
The visit is expected to patch up ties between the Palestinians and Syrians,
which had been tense for years after disagreements between Arafat and Syrian
President Hafez Assad, who died in 2000, Agence France-Presse reported. Attempts
to reconcile the two sides failed. But Arafat met Assad's son and presidential
successor Bashar in Amman on the sidelines of an Arab summit in March 2001. A
visit by Arafat to Damascus in September 2001 was scrapped at the last minute,
according to AFP.