King: Violence Will Continue without the Establishment of a Palestinian State

Amman
08 May 2002

His Majesty King Abdullah II said that unless the political problem of the Palestinian cause is tackled and unless a viable Palestinians state is establishment and a formula that provides peace and security for the Israelis and Palestinians is found, violence will continue.

In an interview with the US BBS the King said `when we watched the Israeli army incursion into the West Bank, I told the Israelis that for each Palestinian they kill or injure hundred others will be born`.

The King said that we will not be able to overcome the current crisis unless the political problem is solved, adding that the reason that prompts people to sacrifice their lives is the absence of hope. `Giving people hope and future is the best thing that we can provide them with,` His Majesty added.

King Abdullah said that the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat cannot stop attacks carried out by the Palestinians against Israel because if we look at things from another angle we find that the rate of unemployment among Palestinians is 75 per cent and that 65 per cent of Palestinians live below the poverty line.

His Majesty rejected the idea of making a comparison between the 11th of September events in the US and the attacks being carried out in Israel. `In the US many innocent were killed but with regard to the West Bank, Israel has been occupying a whole people for 35 years,` he added.

His Majesty said that there is no similarity between what is happening in Afghanistan and what is happening in the West Bank. ` The Americans in Afghanistan want to help the Afghan people but as for the situation in the Palestinian territories, the Israeli occupation must end.

His Majesty expressed regret for this comparison, saying that words are manipulated to affect the emotions of the American people. `The number of victims on the Palestinians is far larger than those killed in Israel,` he said.

Responding to a question on the events in the Jenin Camp, His Majesty said that the appalling stories we heard about what had happened there necessitates revealing the truth of what happened there. King Abdullah called on the US to interfere to solve the current conflict, for it is in the best interest of all.