Jordan Times
Friday, April 16, 2010
Middle East peace must be a global concern - King
AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah on
Thursday stressed that the pursuit of peace and stability in the Middle East,
especially the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is a matter of
international security.
Speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the King highlighted the
vital role the US plays as a partner in the Middle East peace process, noting
that "the two-state solution of solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem is in
the national security interest of the United States", according to a Royal Court
statement.
"You are committed to Iraq at this stage, you are committed to Afghanistan;
there are other hot spots coming out. A lot of it is related to the core issue,
which is the Israeli-Palestinian one. So if this problem continues, none of us
is safe from it and the threat to Jordan is, I think, as much as it is to the
United States and other parts of the world," he said.
Reiterating the urgent need to breathe new life into the stagnant peace process,
King Abdullah warned that the absence of progress towards a comprehensive
resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict increases the likelihood of
crises in the region, calling another war "a very strong possibility" if the
present situation does not change.
“Whenever there is a status quo where there is a lull in the peace process, then
there are others out there that take advantage of that to create mischief. So
what we don’t want is the possibility of a crisis happening between Gaza and
Israel, between Lebanon and Israel or Iran and Israel. These things do happen
when there is an absence of a process moving forward.”
The Monarch emphasised the need to “keep hope alive”, commending US President
Barack Obama’s commitment to solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the
basis of a two-state solution that guarantees the Palestinians their right to an
independent and viable state on their national soil.
Acknowledging that the US administration has many other issues to tackle, he
expressed hope that US Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell would be
back in the region soon and would succeed at obtaining the needed engagement
from both the Palestinians and Israelis so that negotiations could proceed
constructively.
The King’s talk at the Chicago Council came after he spent several days in
Washington attending the Nuclear Security Summit and meeting with Obama and
other senior US officials.
Commenting on the summit, His Majesty lauded the commitment shown by the US and
Russia, particularly, to tackle the issue of nuclear security, and stressed the
importance of international cooperation in keeping nuclear weapons out of the
hands of terrorists.
King Abdullah reaffirmed Jordan’s support for the Palestinian Authority as the
legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, expressing confidence in
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and
stressing the mandate of the PA to negotiate with Israel.
Asked whether the absence of a unity government between Fateh and Hamas is a
hindrance to the peace process, the King said: “If we start to use the excuse of
reconciliation then that’s an excuse not to get to the peace table which is
something I don’t think we can afford at this time.”
With regards to the recent Iraqi elections and the upcoming drawdown of US
forces from Iraq, His Majesty said he believes Iraq is moving in the right
direction and it is up to the Iraqi people to determine their future and their
country’s future relationship with the US.
“I believe you have to have faith in the Iraqi people; I think they’ve come a
long way in the past couple of years,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s the
Iraqis that will be the ones that will be realistic in their appraisal of what
is the American role inside of Iraq.”
Jordan and other countries in the region have a lot of work ahead of them in
facing the challenges in the Middle East today, the King noted, again stressing
the importance of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, calling it “the
most important issue in the Middle East”.
Pointing out that 50 per cent of people in the Middle East are under the age of
18, the King said: “These are young men and women looking for opportunities and
looking for jobs in the Middle East. And if we don’t solve the political
problems of the region, that’s a time bomb waiting to go off.”
Jordan, he added, is working to take advantage of its “vibrant” younger
generation by strengthening the middle class and moving ahead with political,
social and economic reforms, stressing, however, that these tasks are made more
difficult by the persistent absence of peace.
“When there’s peace, the economic dividends for all of us are huge,” he said.
“We need that peace if we’re going to take care of this large, young generation
that is looking for, like all young people around the world, a chance at a good
life and a chance to have an opportunity.”
“I think the younger generation of leadership really understands that
empowerment of the middle class and the tool for that comes down to education,
education, education,” the King added, underscoring Her Majesty Queen Rania’s
efforts to give young people in Jordan and around the world “an opportunity at
really moving their countries forward” through her work in promoting universal
access to education.
“Her work in education and what Jordan is trying to do in education is the
secret of being able to move forward and other countries are picking up on
that.”