Jordan's King Abdullah II called on Sunday for an international coalition to push Israelis and
Palestinians towards peace, including "active leadership"
by the United States.
The Jordanian King warned at an international security conference that the conflict remained the principal breeding ground for "extremism", which threatens societies around the world.
"To achieve a just and lasting peace requires the active
leadership of the United States and, more, it requires a
collective international alliance for peace," Abdullah
said.
"Neither the parties, nor their neighbours, nor the region can do it alone," the King told a gathering of defence luminaries in Munich, Germany.
He called on Western powers in particular, to give
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie [Abu Ala] the international backing he needs to take peace efforts forward.
In his speech to the two-day conference, Abdullah said an
international coalition should be prepared to use "some
heavy-handedness" to push Israelis and Palestinians to the
negotiating table.
King Abdullah said that a key regional challenge was to bring economic development and an end to poverty, which he said was the major destabilizing factor.
"When young people lose hope they can turn to apathy and violence," he said on the final day of the security conference. "When the international community supports those of us engaged in reform ... it creates hope." (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
