His Majesty King Abdullah said the failure of unilateral solutions was underscored to Israel, the US and the entire world after the war in Lebanon.

"What is called unilateral peace has proven its failure in reality," the King, who left yesterday with Queen Rania for New York, told London-based Al Hayat Arabic daily in an interview that was published on Saturday.

"The biggest lesson is the failure of Israeli unilateralism and the failure of dependence on force as a solution to the regional conflict and the failure of the policies of powerful countries that have not seriously sought to help the countries of the Middle East find a just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict," the King Abdullah told Chief Editor Ghassan Sherbel.

Stressing that "there is no future for Israel unless there is a just peace that restores rights to the people", the King said Israel and the entire region cannot enjoy security unless the Palestinians enjoy stability.

The King warned that the region will have to live many more difficult years characterized by violence, unless comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli negotiations begin in the next weeks and months, resulting in the establishment of an independent and geographically contiguous Palestinian state within a specified time.

"It is high time to return to the root causes of the conflict and the core issue, which is the Palestinian issue — without a just solution that restores Palestinian rights and ensures the establishment of a viable Palestinian state on Palestinian land, people of the region will not enjoy security and stability," said the King, who will take part in the 61st session of the UN General Assembly, which started on September 12.

"The only lasting peace is one that all sides are convinced of and believe in and one that follows negotiations and international agreements," he added.

In New York, the King will address the meeting, urging the international community to assume its responsibilities and forge a real global partnership towards peace and stability in the Middle East.On the sidelines of the gathering, King Abdullah will meet with several world leaders to exchange views on the latest developments in the region and the world.

On Iraq, the King expressed concern about the "daily deterioration" of Iraq's security situation saying it stood in the way of "any serious effort to save Iraq from the disturbances, violence, blind fighting and a plunge to civil war that would consume all and its effects, God forbid, would destabilize the entire region."