Jordan Times
Friday, November 30, 2007
King, Bush call for building
on Annapolis peace meeting
AMMAN (Petra) - His Majesty King Abdullah and US President George W. Bush
discussed on Thursday efforts to build on the outcome of the Annapolis peace
conference held on Tuesday.
In a telephone conversation, King Abdullah underscored the importance of seizing
the opportunity made available by the meeting, which, he said, attracted large
Arab and international participation and witnessed the launch of a comprehensive
peace process in accordance with a specific time frame leading to establishing
an independent Palestinian state.
The Monarch voiced his appreciation for efforts by President Bush and US
Secretary of Sate Condoleezza Rice for holding the Annapolis meeting, noting
that the event has clearly showed the US administration’s commitment to
achieving peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.
The King also emphasised the need to intensify international efforts in the
coming stage to eventually put an end to the Israeli occupation of the Arab
lands and end the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Also yesterday, His Majesty called for enabling the Palestinians to exercise
their fundamental and legitimate rights in determining their own destiny and
live in an independent state on their national soil.
The King made the remarks in a letter he sent yesterday to President of the
Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People
Paul Badji on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People.
In the letter, King Abdullah said that Palestinian generations deserve to lead a
decent life and build their independent state that would contribute along with
other nations to the building of the human civilisation and the progress of
mankind.
The King said 60 years have passed since the Nakbeh (Arab word for catastrophe
used to refer to the creation of the state of Israel on most of Palestine in
1948) as the generations that emerged after that are still awaiting the
international community to deliver on its promises to ensure them justice.
He said these generations of Palestinian refugees are looking forward to their
return to their homeland.
He noted that Palestinian refugees living under the Israeli occupation are
victims of illegal practices that come in stark violation of international
humanitarian law and human rights conventions.
He described the living conditions of the Palestinian people as “tragic”.
His Majesty underlined his frequent calls on the international community to
shoulder its responsibilities and embark on joint action to bring an end to
violence, which, he said, should be replaced by dialogue that leads to a just
and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue.
The wars, violence and lack of confidence have complicated the situation and
prolonged the conflict, the King said.
King Abdullah underlined continued Israeli violations in the Palestinian
territories, including the expansion of settlements, the creation of the
separation barrier and the recurrence of the economic siege on the Palestinians,
stressing that such practices would lead to more frustration and an unbreakable
cycle of violence.
In the letter, the King renewed his call for seizing the historic opportunity
which the Arab Peace Initiative offers for ending the Middle East conflict, as
it illuminates the path towards a just and comprehensive peace, security for the
region’s peoples and Palestinian self-determination.
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People was founded in 1975, by Resolution 3376 of the UN General Assembly.
The UN body’s mission is to implement a programme to enable the Palestinian
people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination without
external interference, national independence and sovereignty, and to return to
their homes and property. The committee reports to the assembly annually.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is annually
observed on November 29 to coincide with the anniversary of the 1947 UN
resolution to divide Palestine into two separate states, one Palestinian and one
Jewish.
Olmert says Palestinian state crucial for Israel
In a related development, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said after peace
talks in Washington that failure to negotiate a two-state solution with the
Palestinians could threaten Israel's long-term survival.
A day after Israel and the Palestinians formally relaunched negotiations,
Olmert's comments appeared in Thursday's Haaretz newspaper on the 60th
anniversary of the passing of a UN resolution to partition British-run Palestine
between Jews and Arabs - a two-state solution that still eludes them.
"If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South
African-style struggle for equal voting rights... then, as soon as that happens,
the state of Israel is finished," Olmert said.
For 40 years, Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, home to four
million Arabs. However, to annex the territory and its people would, Israeli
leaders say, undermine the Jewish nature of Israel, which now has a population
of seven million.