King: Israel will not be able to impose its will on Palestinians

Amman
12 March 2002

His Majesty King Abdullah II said that de-facto policy carried out by Israel is unacceptable, and Israel will not be able to impose its will on the Palestinian people.

The King added that the situation in the occupied territories is very critical. He expressed concern that continuation of Israeli violence and aggressions against the Palestinian people will make things out of control.

In an interview with Saudi daily //Al-Watan//, His Majesty said that he warned every now and then from the policy of military escalation and its consequences on stability in the region. We affirm that killing , destruction and siege will not bring peace, and that Israel's security and the future of coexistence of all peoples of the region at large lies in Israel's admittance of the Palestinian people's rights and implementation of international legitimacy resolutions, basically Security Council's 242 and 338, His Majesty said.

His Majesty said that despite the security deterioration on both Palestinian and Israeli arenas, we see that the sole solution which would ensure security and afford peace is that of dialogue and solving issues through peaceful means. The opportunity is there to resume the peace process, he affirmed. His Majesty pointed out that his talks with American president and administration, during his recent visit to US last month, focused on clarifying the Arab position and explaining the suffering of the Palestinian people, in addition to urging US to press Israel to cease aggression and prepare ambience proper for returning to the peace process.

His Majesty said that Saudi Crown Prince Abullah's initiative has very clearly expressed the Arab position pertaining peace in the Middle East. We have to moblize all support to make the initiative a success and to commit Israel to respond to it, His Majesty affirmed.

The ball now is in the Israerli court , he stressed. The King said that striking Iraq is a catastrophe . The only way to solve the pending issues with Iraq is to conduct out direct dialogue between Iraq and UN that would ensure the inplementation of UN resolutions and end the sanctions imposed against brotherly Iraq, His Majesty said.

Sure , any strike against Iraq will have serious consequences on the stability of the whole region and on the international efforts to combat terror as well, His Majesty stressed.

Concerning combating terrorism, His Majesty pointed out that Jordan, like other countries, has been targeted by terrorists who failed to shake its security and stability due to the poeple's awareness and Security Departments' efforts. He stressed that Islam is innocent of the attempts aiming at branding it with the charge of terror.

We as leaders and peoples should defend the real Islam that refutes violence and killing of innocent people, His Majesty affirmed.

Concerning the the elections next September, His Majesty said that elections will be carried out in full freedom and fairness.