CASABLANCA , 23 April — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, who is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush on Thursday, has been holding extensive contacts with Arab leaders ahead of his historic US visit.
The crown prince met with Jordan’s King Abdallah here late Sunday and discussed the situation in the Middle East and the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians.
The two leaders “reviewed the situation in the Middle East... and the suffering of the Palestinian people and its leadership because of the siege, killings, displacement and destruction of their infrastructure by the Israeli occupation forces,” SPA reported.
The crown prince and the Jordanian king stressed “the need for the withdrawal of (Israeli) forces from the territories of the Palestinian Authority, and for an end to the spilling of Palestinian blood,” it added.
The two leaders also underlined the need for “the establishment of the state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, and a just and durable peace that would ensure security and stability for all states in the region.”
The Arab peace plan that offers normal ties with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 Middle East War also came up for discussion. The peace plan was proposed by Prince Abdullah and endorsed by Arab leaders last month in Beirut.
Prince Abdullah’s talks with President Bush at his Texas ranch will focus on the Middle East crisis and the Arab peace plan.
Prince Abdullah also received messages from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He also conferred with President Jacques Chirac of France over telephone.
Arab political analysts and Palestinian officials have highlighted the significance of Prince Abdullah’s visit to the US. They said the crown prince was representing the whole Arab world, especially the Palestinians.
Ziyad Abu Ziyad, Palestinian minister for Al-Quds affairs, Haider Abdu Shafi, chief Palestinian negotiator, and Saleh Abdul Aal, member of the Palestinian National Council, said they were confident that Prince Abdullah was capable of telling the world what is happening in the Palestinian territories.
According to Al-Bilad newspaper, Prince Abdullah’s talks with Bush will deal with the situation in Palestine, bilateral ties and joint efforts to fight terrorism.
The paper said Prince Abdullah will call for Washington’s quick intervention to end the Israeli siege on the Palestinian people.
