His Majesty King Abdullah II told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and an Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions were conditions for achieving comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.

During a brief meeting in Amman between the King and Netanyahu to discuss regional peace-making, King Abdullah demanded an end to Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and unilateral actions intended to change the status quo. He also demanded a lifting of Israeli checkpoints in Palestinian territories that restrict the movement of goods and people, an end to the siege on the Gaza Strip and immediate negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority in order to reach a two-state solution as soon as possible.

During the talks, the King said Israel must stop archaeological excavations and all other unilateral actions in Jerusalem that threaten Muslim and Christian holy sites and that seek to alter the city's identity and to drive out Jerusalem's Arab Muslim and Christian residents.

The region is at a critical juncture that demands an end to procrastination in ending the conflict, King Abdullah told the Israeli prime minister.

King Abdullah said that the Arab Peace Initiative is an historic opportunity to achieve comprehensive peace that ensures Arab rights and provides security and acceptance in the region for Israel. He warned that the failure to seize this opportunity to end the conflict will threaten the security and stability of the entire region, and said that Israel will not achieve peace, security or stability until the Palestinians realise their legitimate right to statehood and to live in peace and security.

Israel must announce its commitment to the two-state solution and its acceptance of the Arab Peace Initiative, and take the necessary steps towards ending the conflict, King Abdullah told Netanyahu. He added the two-state solution enjoys international consensus because it is the only solution to the conflict and that there is no alternative to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The King also warned that economic empowerment and development of the Palestinians is not an alternative to a political, two-state settlement. He said that talk of economic empowerment outside the parameters of a political solution is unacceptable, because it will not achieve lasting peace and ultimately will visit more crises and conflict on the region.

The meeting between King Abdullah and the Israeli prime minister was also attended by Chief of the Royal Hashemite Court Nasser Lozi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh. Netanyahu returned to Israel after the brief meeting.