Jordan Times
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
‘US can be the game changer in
Mideast’
AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah has said American leadership can be a
game changer as the people of the region, Arabs and Israelis alike, still hope
for peace, and because they still recognise the US as the one power able to
bring Palestinians and Israelis to the negotiating table.
In an opinion piece published Monday in The Hill, a congressional newspaper that
publishes daily when Congress is in session, King Abdullah highlighted US
President Barack Obama's commitment to a comprehensive and lasting Middle East
peace.
The King said Obama's declaration that Palestinian-Israeli peace is in the US
national security interest highlights the extent to which the US recognises the
great impact this issue has on America’s global leadership and credibility.
In the article, King Abdullah said next month, Israelis will mark 62 years of
statehood, while Palestinians will mark the 62nd anniversary of rights denied.
"Today, Israel is no closer to the security and acceptance it desires than it
was six decades ago, and occupation is still the reality for millions of
Palestinians," His Majesty added.
“Jerusalem is a tinderbox that can ignite our region and inflame passions around
the world,” he said, adding there is widespread concern that holy sites and the
future of Muslim and Christian Jerusalemites are threatened.
Following is the full text of the article:
During my recent trip to Washington, I had the pleasure of meeting President
Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and numerous other members of Congress. Our
meetings recognise 60 years of American-Jordanian partnership. During these
decades, American support has helped us address some of our most vital
development challenges, expand our trade horizons and create opportunity for
young Jordanians.
I speak for all Jordanians when I say we are grateful for your assistance.
Together, we have also confronted common threats, worked to advance global
stability and carried a message of tolerance and understanding. Our partnership
is as strong as ever, and growing. Today, it is imperative we marshal the
goodwill and trust between us to put Middle East peace making back on track.
In the Middle East, there have been no real negotiations that could lead to
comprehensive peace for a whole decade. The result has been an alarming erosion
in the credibility of the peace process and its advocates. The status quo is
untenable. The current stalemate threatens a new round of violence that will
spare none of us.
Next month, Israelis will mark 62 years of statehood, while Palestinians will
mark the 62nd anniversary of rights denied. Today, Israel is no closer to the
security and acceptance it desires than it was six decades ago, and occupation
is still the reality for millions of Palestinians. Jerusalem is a tinderbox that
can ignite our region and inflame passions around the world. There is widespread
concern that holy sites and the future of Muslim and Christian Jerusalemites are
threatened. This strikes at the spiritual heart of billions of people worldwide
- Muslims, Christians and Jews. Meanwhile, Israeli settlement building continues
to consume the land of a future Palestinian state, and with it, the only viable
solution to this conflict: the establishment of an independent Palestinian state
living in peace and security alongside Israel.
On both sides of the Atlantic, there are voices that say this conflict can’t be
resolved. These voices should not prevail. The alternative to peace is renewed
conflict on different fronts. Only restoration of hope through progress towards
a settlement will protect the region from falling into the abyss of war.
American leadership can be a game changer. That is because the people of the
region, Arabs and Israeli alike, still hope for peace, and because they still
recognise the US as the one power able to bring Palestinians and Israelis to the
negotiating table.
In the region, we know President Obama is committed to a comprehensive and
lasting Middle East peace. His declaration that Palestinian-Israeli peace is in
the US national security interest highlights the extent to which the United
States recognises the great impact this issue has on America’s global leadership
and credibility. Terrorist groups, which preach hatred for America and target
American interests and lives in the region and beyond, have made the Palestinian
issue their rallying cry. They exploit the legitimate frustration of Arabs and
Muslims over the failure to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, to serve
their illegitimate criminal agendas, and to raise anti-American sentiment in a
region where the United States is fighting terrorists and extremists on more
than one front. Solving this conflict will deprive these groups of one of their
most potent appeals.
Jordan will continue to help lay the groundwork for effective American
engagement. We have long accepted our responsibility in this regard. We have
worked closely with the United States to give the peace process a framework for
results and to build the ties and institutions for peace.
With all Arab states, we have stood behind the Arab Peace Initiative, which
supports negotiations towards a two-state solution that will secure Israel’s
future. This hand of acceptance is reaching out from the 57 Muslim countries,
one-third of the United Nations, that support the initiative.
Until the United States is able to bring its full weight to bear on the parties
to get them back to negotiations, I see two vital jobs for the friends of peace
in America. One is to help the parties walk back from areas of contention. The
other is to help the Israeli and Palestinian people remain focused on where they
want to be in 10 years - on the peace, security and prosperity they want for
themselves and their children - and to use all our efforts to get them moving
towards that goal.
Right now, the United States is trying to get the Israelis and the Palestinians
to engage in proximity talks. The Arab League has supported these talks.
We encourage the parties to get this process moving as soon as possible, with a
view to transitioning quickly to direct, effective and serious negotiations that
can deliver a final settlement.
But left to their own, the parties will not be able to resolve the conflict. At
some point during these negotiations, the United States will have to weigh in
with its own proposals to move the parties forward.
Time is not on our side, and now is the time for the parties to transcend short-termism
and to work for a future in which Palestinians and Israelis enjoy peace and
security. The endgame is clear. But the journey towards it has taken far too
long, and has caused more suffering than the peoples of the region should have
to endure. The alarming reality is that as the viability of the two-state
solution is being compromised by new facts on the ground, we are faced with the
prospect of a different endgame, where war and conflict will dominate the
region’s future. That is a future that neither Palestinians nor the Israelis
want. It is the duty of us all not to doom them to it.