King of Jordan urges Middle East peace this year

The Middle East will face "new disasters" unless a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is found in 2007, warned Jordan's King Abdullah.  "The Palestinian issue is at the core of the conflict in the region and we hope that the international community realises that regional issues are tied together," he told the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper.

King Abdullah told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit to the region this month that only real progress toward peace could prevent more violence.  Rice promised a bigger US push for a Palestinian state. (Reuters)