Jordan's king urges Israel to adopt Arab peace plan
In meeting with Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, King Abdullah calls on Israel to abandon unilateral moves, enter peace negotiations based on Arab peace initiative. 'Israel must recognize all Palestinian rights, including establishment of Palestinian state,' he says
In a meeting with Knesset Speaker and Acting President Dalia Itzik in Amman, the king urged Israel to adopt the Arab peace initiative. According to Abdullah, his meeting with Itzik was part of the peace moves led by Jordan.
"As a first step to end the conflict with the Palestinians, Israel must recognize all the Palestinian rights, including the establishment of a Palestinian state," he said.
The king also slammed the building of the separation fence and Jewish settlements and said "I want peace in our generation. I am worried about the next generations."
Jordanian king with Knesset speaker (Photo: Moshe Milner, GPO)
Itzik invited the Jordanian king to speak at the Knesset and address the people of Israel. She mentioned the Israeli people's love for his late father, King Hussein, and urged him to visit Jerusalem in order to try and convince the Israeli public to adopt the Aran initiative.
After Itzik's meeting with King Abdullah and Queen Rania, they were joined for lunch by the rest of the Knesset members on the Israeli delegation. The eight MKs later met with the Jordanian prime minister and foreign minister.
MK Tzhachi Hanegbi (Kadima) said following the meal that the meeting was extremely important.
"The king addressed the Arab initiative and openly listened to our stances," he said.
During the meeting between Abdullah and Itzik, and later between Jordanian officials and Israeli MKs, the Jordanians stressed that they were determined to convince the Israeli people that they should reach a peace agreement with all Arab countries based on the Arab initiative.
The king said that this was a historic opportunity which should not be missed. The MKs said, on the other hand, that Israel has a large number of reservations regarding the Arab initiative.
MK Zvi Hendel (National Union-National Religious Party) said, "I was under the impression that the king was exerting every effort in order to bring about a move of peace."
MK Yisrael Hasson (Kadima) said, "The meeting with the Jordanians was as usual friendly and pleasant. It was an attempt to convince us that the Arab peace initiative is worthy. I say that on the one hand we must look into it, but on the other hand we must be careful."
Aides to the Knesset speaker said that the decision to bring along eight MKs from different factions was aimed at presenting the king with all opinions in Israel.
