Jordan Times
Friday, March 26, 2010
King’s statements
‘strong message’ to Israel, world
By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday conveyed a strong message to
Israel as well as the international community that the region is fed up with
endless peace talks, politicians and party leaders said on Thursday.
"It is important for Jordan to work towards unifying the Arab stance against
Israel's stubbornness and arrogance and its unilateral measures, which obstruct
the peace process and are a threat to security and stability in the region and
the world as a whole," former prime minister Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh told The
Jordan Times on Thursday.
In an interview with the editors-in-chief of five major newspapers on Wednesday,
King Abdullah said that Israeli practices in Jerusalem are undermining “already
cold” Jordanian-Israeli ties and threatening stability in the region.
Emphasising that all political, legal and diplomatic options are open in dealing
with the "rejected" Israeli actions, the King said that Jordan will not refrain
from exerting all possible means to protect Jerusalem and to achieve a peace
that gives justice to Palestinians and restores all Arab rights.
“In all my meetings with Israeli, American and international officials, I have
warned that continued attacks on Jerusalem and its holy sites will ignite the
entire region. Jerusalem has a special place in the hearts of Palestinians,
Jordanians, Arabs and Muslims,” King Abdullah told the chief editors of The
Jordan Times, Al Rai, Ad Dustour, Al Ghad and Al Arab Al Yawm.
The King warned that the peace process is at a crossroads and that people are
tired of an open-ended process that does not lead to results, stressing that the
world cannot afford to waste more time as the peace process continues to lose
credibility.
Rawabdeh added that Jordan has several cards to play in order to rally
international support for the Palestinians and their rights, through exploiting
its “excellent” relations with the US, Europe and other world countries.
“It is important to use these relations in making the international community
understand that the longer the stalemate in achieving peace in the region, the
more depression and frustration there will be among citizens,” Rawabdeh said.
Jordan, he stressed, needs to strengthen its internal unity to stand firm
against the challenges ahead, adding that the King has made it clear through his
speeches and meetings with opinion leaders that Jordan’s policy is based on
achieving the interests of the country and its citizens.
“The King has reiterated several times that Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is
Palestine. He made it clear that the solution to the struggle in the Middle East
lies in Israel’s submission to the will of the international community, which
supports the two-state solution as the only solution to the conflict that
guarantees the establishment of a viable Palestinian state living side-by-side
in peace with Israel,” the former premier said.
Rawabdeh also underlined that Jordan is considered a moderate country in a
volatile region, stressing however that “when the Arabs decided to go to war,
Jordan was one of the fighters, and when they opted to try the peace option,
Jordan was also in the front lines”.
Another leading politician agreed.
“The King’s words carry a very strong message to the world in general and the
Israelis in particular, that whoever wants peace must act for peace,” Mamdouh
Abbadi, a former minister and former member of Parliament, told The Jordan Times
Thursday, adding that currently, the Israelis do not appear to want peace.
“Israel keeps playing with the ‘Jordan option’ as a scarecrow to stir reactions
among the Jordanians and to divert the attention of the international community
from the main and only possible solution to the conflict in the Middle East,
which the King has made clear in the international arena many times,” Abbadi
said.
Abbadi added that ever since his accession to the Throne, the King has
reiterated his support for the Palestinians and their right to have their own
state on their national soil, adding that “the myth of the Jordan option has
never been and will never be accepted, neither by the Jordanians nor the
Palestinians.”
Abbadi underlined that the King’s statements were timely, adding that at the
same time they constituted a strong and clear message to all parties involved in
the peace process that Jordan’s responsible approach towards Arab causes will
never change.
“Every day that passes by, Israel moves farther from peace, as seen their
unilateral acts and attempts to change the facts on the ground in the occupied
territories. This, as was made clear by the King, will have a negative impact on
their bilateral relations with Jordan, which are already going through a very
cold time,” the former MP said, adding that demolitions of Palestinian houses
and construction of new settlement units in East Jerusalem will only lead to
more violence and will not bring peace.
On the other hand, President of the Higher Executive Anti-Normalisation
Committee Hamzeh Mansour, an Islamist leader, described peace with Israel as “a
lie and a waste of effort”.
“Israel is an illegitimate entity founded on aggression and occupation of Arab
lands. Making peace with the enemy is like making peace between a lamb and a
wolf,” Mansour said, adding that Israel only understands the language of force.
There is no alternative but to support the Palestinian resistance, which
represents the first line of defence against Israeli greed, he said, calling on
the Arab countries to unite and build an Arab army in preparation for “the
imminent battle with the enemy”.