AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdallah yesterday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a two-state solution to the Arab Israeli conflict that involves Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands was a “prerequisite” for the establishment of lasting peace in the Middle East.
Netanyahu met with Abdallah at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba in the wake of calls by Jordanian intellectuals and trade unions that the Israeli prime minister should not be allowed to visit the country because he was “trying to improve his government’s image” ahead of his trip to Washington for a crucial meeting with US President Barack Obama.
During a meeting with King Abdallah in Washington on April 21, Obama expressed strong support for the two-state vision and for the Arab peace initiative, which offers Israel recognition by all Arab countries if it quits all occupied Arab territories, including East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has not accepted the two-state formula and instead offered Palestinians “economic peace.”
Abdallah urged the Israeli prime minister to “enter into immediate and serious negotiations with the Palestinian Authority” and to stop all forms of settlement activity in Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian lands, which he said were designed “to change realities on the ground” and “empty the holy city of its Christian and Islamic population.”
“Israel will not obtain security and stability if the Palestinians are not allowed the right to establish their own state and the opportunity to live in peace,” the king was quoted by the state Petra news agency as telling Netanyahu.
“Any talk of economic empowerment outside the framework of a political solution that leads to the establishment of an independent and viable state that lives in peace with Israel will be rejected because it will not bring peace and will expose the region to fresh conflicts and crises,” Abdallah said.
Petra did not did give Netanyahu’s response, and a spokesman for the Israeli leader was not immediately available for comment.
On Monday, Netanyahu sought Egypt’s help in building a coalition against Iran and said he hoped to renew peace talks with the Palestinians in the coming weeks. But he made no endorsement of Palestinian statehood.
Obama’s warning
Ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, Obama warned Israel against a surprise military operation against Iran. A report in the Israeli daily Haaretz said yesterday that the warning was conveyed to Netanyahu and government officials by a senior American official in Israel. The US action indicates its concern that Israel could lose patience and act against Iran. The Americans do not want to be caught off guard and forced to deal with a situation they did not bargain for, the paper said, and added that Obama did not wait for his White House meeting with Netanyahu, scheduled for next Monday, to deliver his message, but rather sent it ahead of time with his envoy.
Netanyahu believes Washington should make it clear to Tehran that if it does not stop its nuclear program, sanctions will be imposed and other alternatives considered.
— With input from Mohammed Mar’i
