Jordan Times
Monday, March 29, 2010
‘Jordan remains
committed to protecting Jerusalem’
By Mohammad Ghazal
SIRTE, Libya - His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday said that Jordan is doing
everything it can to help preserve the Arab identity of Jerusalem and protect
its holy sites until it is liberated from occupation.
In a speech, copies of which were distributed at the final session of the 22nd
Arab Summit in Sirte, Libya, the Monarch also warned of the fading opportunity
to find a just solution to the Palestinian issue and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
At the end of their two-day summit, which saw the absence of eight heads of
state, Arab leaders adopted the Sirte Declaration, which entails a plan to
provide financial, legal and political support to Jerusalem in the face of
Israel's attempts to Judaise the holy city, approving an increase in assistance
to Jerusalem from $150 million to $500 million.
The leaders also approved holding an international conference with the
participation of all Arab organisations, syndicates and civil society
institutions to defend and protect Jerusalem.
In his speech, King Abdullah, who returned home from the summit yesterday, urged
the international community and the US in particular to continue their efforts
to find a just solution to the Palestinian issue, in order to prevent the region
and its people from sinking into another cycle of violence and conflict that
would threaten global security.
“Israel must know that it will never have security unless the Palestinians also
have their right to security, freedom and a state… and it must choose between
remaining an isolated fortress or living in peace with its neighbours,” the King
noted, reiterating that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the core conflict in
the region.
The Monarch said the international community must shoulder its responsibilities
by putting pressure on Israel to remove the obstacles it has placed in the way
of the peace process.
The King also urged the world to pressure Israel to stop all illegal and
illegitimate practices, including continued settlement building in the occupied
territories and East Jerusalem in particular, as well as house demolitions and
evictions of Palestinians that seek to change the demographics of East Jerusalem
and erase its Arab character.
King Abdullah said the Arabs’ continued commitment to the 2002 Arab Peace
Initiative has helped develop an unprecedented international consensus that the
two-state solution is the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and
that achieving just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is a vital
interest, not just for the Arabs, Palestinians and Israelis, but for the entire
world.
With the Arab nation facing critical challenges, His Majesty urged the Arab
leaders to form a united strategy that “enables us to overcome these challenges
to protect our nation’s interests”, and to stand firmly against all attempts by
external actors to interfere in the affairs of Arab states and tamper with their
security and stability.
“It is in this context that we support every effort that seeks to clear the Arab
atmosphere, achieve Arab solidarity and overcome all differences that lead to
external interference in our affairs… not for the sake of championing our just
causes but to achieve ambitions of hegemony and influence,” King Abdullah said.
His Majesty also voiced support to Saudi Arabia’s measures to defend its
security and stability and to combat terrorism, saying: “We stand by the Gulf
Arab states in confronting anyone who tries to tamper with their security or
stability or to interfere in their internal affairs or challenge their total
sovereignty over every inch of their land.”
“We support all the measures taken by the Republic of Yemen to prevent
interference in its internal affairs. We also support its efforts to fight
terrorism and to prevent Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations from
infiltrating Yemen and threatening its security and stability as well as that of
neighbouring countries and the world,” said the King.
On Lebanon, he stressed Jordan’s support for the country in the face of Israeli
threats and provocations, which Jordan condemns.
“We also stand by its government and people against any attempt to undermine
Lebanon’s social fabric or threaten the security of the country and its public
safety. We also stress our support for Sudan and reject every attempt to
threaten its security and stability,” the King said.
On Iraq, King Abdullah stressed Jordan’s support for the country’s efforts to
unite all political, religious and ethnic groups under the umbrella of one
united Iraqi identity, a step, he said, will solidify the country’s security and
stability while preserving its unity and independence.
“I must stress here that what we have done for Iraq is below our expectations…
for Iraq needs more than moral support… Iraq needs effective assistance on the
ground,” the King said.
In the Sirte Declaration, the Arab leaders emphasised their keenness to heal any
Arab rifts, eliminate the causes of intra-Arab disputes, and use dialogue to
prevent internal and external interferences in Arab affairs.
The declaration also paid tribute to the Palestinians in standing up to Israeli
violations of international law, stressing that East Jerusalem is an inseparable
part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.
They also called on Iraqis from all sects to place their national interests
above all other considerations and to speed up the formation of an Iraqi
government that preserves national unity.
The Arab leaders stressed their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms,
calling for an international conference to be held under the supervision of the
UN to define terrorism and to make a distinction between terrorism and nations’
rights to resistance.
Also Sunday, King Abdullah met with Sheikh Abdullah Ben Hamad Al Khalifa, the
personal representative of the Bahraini king to the Arab Summit, to discuss
bilateral ties and issues on the summit’s agenda, the Jordan News Agency, Petra,
reported.