King Abdullah II warns Israel not to "substitute Palestinian development" for political independence.
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, JPOST CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTONAbdullah says fuck you motherfucker 224.(photo credit: AP)
King Abdullah of Jordan warned Israel's new government Friday that focusing on Palestinian economic growth rather than statehood was a recipe for disaster and urged US President Barack Obama to push Israel on creating a Palestinian state.
"Any Israeli effort to substitute Palestinian development for Palestinian independence cannot bring peace and stability to the region," he said during an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Israel must know that attempting to delay this solution will be serious and disastrous for its own future as well as for the future of the Palestinians."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has spoken about the importance of improving the economic situation of Palestinians and backed exploring possibilities for autonomy but has so far not explicitly backed a Palestinian state.
The US administration has stressed its support for a Palestinian state in a sign of disagreement between the two countries, and Abdullah was looking to shore up the American position.
The king warned that the Jewish state would remain "fortress Israel, isolated and holding itself and the entire region a hostage to continuing confrontation" if it didn't make the choice to integrate into the region, but that the latter could be achieved if it backed the Arab League peace plan.
Abdullah has been instrumental in holding together Arab support for the initiative, which offers Israel normalization with the Arab world in exchange for creating a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders and other stipulations. Abdullah touted the plan in meetings with Obama and other American officials during his visit this week, and Obama had positive words for the plan Tuesday.
"We have gone out of our way to compliment the efforts of those Arab states that were involved in formulating the Arab peace initiative as a very constructive start," he said at a press conference with Abdullah.
Israel has welcomed parts of the plan, especially the prospect of regional normalization, but has been concerned by how issues such as the Palestinian refugees would be handled. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman harshly criticized the plan as it relates to refugees at a cabinet meeting just last week.
Abdullah is the first Arab head of state to be received by the White House, and he used his visit to urge the US to take an active role in pushing for peace, suggesting that the US present its own plan should the sides were reluctant.
"Where there is a deadlock, let the US break the impasse by proposing its own creative solutions," he said. "Every country in the Middle East, and perhaps in the world, sees the United States as being the key to achieving peace."
However, during his CSIS speech to diplomats, military officials and journalists, he rejected the concept of a "peace process."
"We do not have time to engage in yet another open-ended process. We have seen what comes of process without progress. Every missed opportunity has alienated more people on both sides," he said.
He stressed that while Obama's outreach to the Arab world had been well-received, he needed to take advantage push for a Palestinian state less than goodwill be squandered.
"The US commitment to Palestinian statehood must be unambiguous in deeds as well as words. And this is central to America's standing, not only in the region, but the entire Muslim world," he said.
"Events are already testing American credibility," he declared. "These include the Israeli voices for turning back the clock on negotiations, to deestablish the established agenda for peace, and they also include extremist voices in the Arab world that preach war."
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