"The time to take action in the Middle East is now," was the resounding message of Jordanian King Abdullah II's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday. "If we're not too late... the two state solution will only last as long as [US President Barack] Obama's term," he warned. "If it doesn't happen by then I don't think it will happen.
The Palestinians must be granted their rights to their own future, Abdullah said, as he called upon the international community to "end this conflict once and for all."
"For decades, Jordan has taken risks for peace, because the risk of continued conflict is much worse," he stressed. Following this week's elections in Israel, he said that peace and security must be the deepest wish of all Israelis.
Abdullah posited Obama's position as a second term president as a "tremendous advantage." He added that in the next couple of months, Jordan would be marching toward Washington with it's international partners in the peace process, and saying "Mr. President, it's time to engage in the the Palestinian-Israeli peace process."
When questioned on Hamas's position, the king expressed belief that the Islamic movement was now "being a bit more realistic, because this really is their last chance."
He weighed up what he said were the only two possible solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: the two state solution or the one state solution. Abdullah said the latter option "scares Israelis more" and added that it would present a dilemma between a democratic state or an apartheid state. "The two state solution is the only solution," he concluded.