Jordan, Saudi Arabia urge end of settlement activity (Roundup)

Jan 5, 2010, 19:26 GMT

Amman - Leaders of Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday called on Israel to stop all forms of settlement activity in East Jerusalem, which the Jewish state captured from the Hashemite Kingdom in the 1967 Middle East war, according to a joint statement.

The call came during talks between Jordan's King Abdullah II, who paid a brief visit to Riyadh earlier in the day, and Saudi monarch King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as part of hectic regional diplomacy reportedly aimed at evaluating a new US blueprint for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The two pro-West monarchs 'stressed the need for Israel to quit all unilateral measures, particularly the building of settlements and other moves that jeopardise the identity of Jerusalem and holy places there,' the statement said.

The two Arab leaders said that any resumption of the peace process should involve 'serious and effective negotiations based on the two- state vision within a clear timetable and a well-defined plan that addresses all aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.'

Any Middle East settlement should ensure the fulfilment of the aspirations of the Palestinian people in freedom and an independent state and ensure the return of all Arab rights in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and the Arab peace initiative, it said.

The Arab peace plan offers Israel recognition by all Arab countries if it pulls out from all Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem.

The leaders of Jordan and Saudi Arabia also urged the feuding Palestinian factions - President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group and the radical Hamas movement - to work out national reconciliation as soon as possible.

The Jordanian head of state expressed backing to Saudi Arabia in defending its territory against Houthi insurgents of Yemen, the statement said.