Jordan's King Abdullah II affirmed that it is premature to talk about confederation or federation with the Palestinians before the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and we have no desire to talk about it .
“Our position is unwavering. Any discussion of confederation or federation is premature and we have no desire to discuss it. The form of the future official Jordanian-Palestinian relationship is something to be decided by both after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” King Abdullah said in an interview with Al-Ahram daily published on Thursday.
What is important now is to launch Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations that lead to a two-state solution; an independent viable Palestinian state on Palestinian soil living in security and peace side by side with Israel, the King said.
The Jordanian monarch noted that he keeps in constant close contact with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz to garner support to the Arab peace initiative and “explain its parameters and promote it within the international community, as well as in Israeli society so that they can influence their leadership and their community.”
The King said he was not surprised by Israel media reports following his meeting with Israeli Knesset President regarding the possible solution of the refugee issue in return to financial compensation. “These baseless comments were unsurprising. We are used to occasional statements meant to confuse and undermine our efforts to establish a just solution to the Palestinian issue,” the King said.
He stressed that the US as a super power should shoulder a moral responsibility towards peace in the Middle East. “I would like to emphasize that the US, being the world superpower, bears a huge moral responsibility to achieve peace in the Middle East, beginning with helping to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
King Abdullah expressed hope that the Sharm Al Sheikh conference would have achieved results that would help end the violence and the sever crisis in Iraq. However, the King said “we must stress that only the Iraqis themselves are capable of knowing their country’s best interests, but they have to unite and challenge the voices that are inciting sectarianism and violence.
In reply to a question on his visit to Israel, King Abdullah said he was invited to visit Israel in the past. If we find in this visit an opportunity to create progress in the Peace process and serve the Palestinian people, who are facing the greatest blockade and injustice known in history, and then we will consider it at that time, the King said.
