AMMAN, 17 May 2007 — King Abdallah II of Jordan was quoted yesterday as saying that he would visit Israel if he felt such a trip would help “re-launch” the peace process. “I have received an invitation to visit Israel. We appraise such a trip in terms of the impact and benefit that accrues in case it takes place,” the monarch said in an interview with the daily newspaper Alarab Alyawm.
“If we feel that the visit will fulfill its goal in re-launching the peace process, then we will pay it out of keenness on serving the Palestinian cause and building up just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert extended an invitation to King Abdallah last month for visiting Israel, but the move drew negative reactions inside Jordan with opposition figures and editorialists urging the monarch not to carry out the trip.
“Israel is called upon to take practical steps that convince all parties that it is serious about peace which preserves the region against dangerous developments,” the king told Alarab Alyawm.
King Abdallah met Tuesday with Olmert on the sidelines of the Nobel Laureates conference at the ancient city of Petra and urged him to “stop all forms of escalation”, including the construction of settlements and excavations at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque. Olmert’s visit to Jordan sparked protests by opposition parties and trade unions.
