 King Abdullah was upbeat about Jordan's bilateral ties with Israel |
Arab nations are to resurrect proposals for a general Middle East peace deal, Jordan's King Abdullah has confirmed. Interviewed on Israeli television, the king said the Arab League would draft an updated proposal at a summit in Algiers later this month.
In 2002 the league backed Saudi plans for a general peace based on an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, but the deal was rejected by Israel.
King Abdullah said the plan would be adapted to encourage Israeli approval.
"I was surprised after the Beirut conference [in 2002] that it did not have really an impact on Israeli society," he said.
"So maybe we have to explain more what was the offer from all the Arab countries towards Israel."
The plan envisages an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and is expected to propose a "just" solution to the issue of Palestinian demands for the return of refugees to land now inside Israel.
The king stressed the need for a settlement in the West Bank, where Israel is continuing to construct its controversial security barrier.
"The way things are moving in the West Bank, in a year or two we may not have a viable [Palestinian] state to talk about.
"Then does that mean that we resign Israelis and Arabs for many more decades of violence or suspicion or hatred?"
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