Jordan's King Abdullah II: 2008 "crossroad" for Mideast peace

Feb 4, 2008, 18:03 GMT

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday told a group of European parliamentarians that he considered the year 2008 as a 'crossroad' for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a royal court statement.

'This year represents a crossroad for the Middle East. We have to choose between peace and stability or their antonyms,' the monarch told legislators from 27 European countries attached to the MedBridge Group.

'Therefore, the world community should help the Palestinian and Israeli leaderships to ensure (a) future for the Palestinians and peace for Israel,' he said.

Abdullah referred to the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on the core issues of Jerusalem, the settlements, refugees and frontiers that were launched at the Annapolis conference on November 27.

He warned against the 'negative repercussions' on the peace talks of Israel's continued building of settlements in East Jerusalem and other Palestinian areas it occupied in 1967.

Responding to questions from the European delegation, Abdullah ruled out the normalization of ties between Israel and the Arab peoples.

'The politicians should first give their peoples the opportunity to build up their future before moving to utilize (the) opportunities of economic cooperation. It is impossible for people to move while the machine of daily killings is operating,' the monarch said.

'Jordan sticks to the rights of return and compensation for Palestinian refugees' in accordance with the UN General Assembly resolution 194 of 1948, Abdullah said.

Israel captured East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The MedBridge delegation is visiting Jordan and other countries in the region as part of its Parliaments for Peace initiative.