King warns Middle East conflict breeds more extremism, violence

12 July 2007
Amman , Jordan

His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday said the continuing absence of a just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would push the world towards years of violence and extremism.

“If we don't have an independent viable Palestinian state… we don't have a two-state solution; if we don't have a two-state solution, therefore we have no peace between Israelis and Palestinians; if we have no peace between Israelis and Palestinians, how can we broker a peace between Israelis and Arabs and Muslims?” the King asked during an interview with the Toronto Globe and Mail in Amman, hours before he left for Ottawa on a several-day visit.

“Do we resign ourselves to decades of more violence which all of us will pay the price for? International extremism is affecting every country in the world.”

The King said the international community must encourage Israelis and Palestinians to sit around the negotiation table and discuss their issues.

King Abdullah said he hoped to see last month's four-ways summit grouping the King, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas lead to larger meetings over the next several months, eventually leading to a larger international umbrella for the Israelis and Palestinians to move forward.

“Canada is relevant because of the many levels that it plays; it's not just the economic level but the political," he said, adding that the North American country was well-known internationally for its peacekeeping efforts in the region, and Canada belonged to the group of moderate nations trying to bring stability to the Middle East.

On Jordan's peaceful nuclear plans, the King said Jordan wants to set the "example of how to do right in the Middle East” and "to make sure that we have the most efficient, clean and transparent form of energy."

That is where I think Canada plays a role," the King said, "and we've had some very serious and ongoing discussions with the Canadians on this respect.”