San Francisco, 17/4/2004, (Communication & Information Division - Royal Hashemite Court) - His Majesty King Abdullah II said that the goal of creating a more secure world and solving the problem of world terrorism and extremism, cannot be achieved through focusing on the direct temporary aspect of the problem, which is fighting extremists only, for it is part of the solution but not a final one.
In a penal discussion after the important speech he delivered at the Commonwealth Club, His Majesty said that failure to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict does not only affect stability and security in the the Middle east, but also the stability of the whole world. "No one will be safe if this issue in not justly solved," the King added.
His Majesty warned that animosity towards the US will increase among the region's peoples who see Israeli tanks on Palestinian and Israeli streets.
King Abdullah called on the US to solve the Palestinian and Iraqi issues.
On the US role to achieve peace in the Middle East, the King said that we have a process and each party knows what it should do. There is a mechanism to implement the goal announced by the US President George Bush two years ago, which is a viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel".
The King called for a stronger role from the US and the international community represented in the International Quartet to achieve items of the roadmap. " The Arabs have done what is requested from them to implement the roadmap when they signed the Arab peace declaration and pledged to establish normal relations with Israel when the Palestinians regain their legitimate rights".
His Majesty called on Israel to rethink again and know the objective it seeks to achieve from negotiations with Arabs. " Stability, peace and security will be impossible to achieve if one party takes everything and leave the others desperate and frustrated," he added.
During the discussion which was attended by 1500 figures from the club who are concerned in world political issues, His Majesty said that solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will lead to a solution to all Middle East problems, for instability in the region does not allow its countries and peoples to follow up on political, economic and social programs and does not enable them to utilize the region's resources.
His Majesty called on the international community to support Jordan in its reform plans on the political, economic and social levels.
On parliamentary elections, His Majesty expressed hope that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Jordan will be held with the existence of unified and strong parties that are able to establish popular bases and specific work programs.
The discussion were attended by His Royal Highness Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, Minister the Hashemite Royal Court, Sameer Rifai, His Majesty's Advisor Akil Beltaji, the ministers of Telecommunications and information technology, and planning and international cooperation, Jordan's ambassador to Washington and the US ambassador to Jordan.