His Majesty King Abdullah II said the endorsement of the Arab peace initiative by Arab leaders at Beirut Arab summit was a great transformation in the Arab and Palestinian standpoint regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.



In reply to questions raised by participants in the Munich
conference on security policy, where King Abdullah delivered a keynote
address, the King said the Arab League has exerted good efforts over
the past two years in the drive for peace and security in the Middle
East.


However, the King questioned "why it is we, the Arabs, who are
always asked to move forward and to make more steps whereas we do
not see any response from the Israeli side?" With everyday
of delay in settling the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Arabs and Israelis
lose more of their lives, King Abdullah warned.


" What we are trying to do is to keep the Palestinian-Israeli
question alive in a way the guarantees a foreword movement in case
an substantial change takes place in the Middle East," the King said.


Unfortunately the regional issues and the current international
climate do not foretell a serious movement in the peace process within
the coming months, said King Abdullah expressing his worry that the
widening cycle of violence has greatly affected both the Palestinians
and the Israelis and has made their leaderships lose the ability for
perceiving the broader picture.


"Everybody knows what is required but the problem is how to
push the parties to the table of negotiations," the King said.


"We have seen over the past years, how the situation has
turned out when the two parties were left alone, therefore, I see
there is a necessity for the international community to exercise pressure
in a transparent and responsible way on which party that should make
more steps," King Abdullah told his interlocutors.


The international community, as a monitoring system, is capable
of saying its word on what the roadmap peace plan requires from the
Palestinians and the Israelis and how to implement it on the ground,
King Abdullah said.


The called for empowering the governance institution of the
Palestinian Authority noting that the previous government led by Abu
Mazen did not receive the ample support. If we do not support Abu
Ala's (Ahmed Qureia) government, who will be the alternative?" the
King questioned.


The number of nominees for this post has diminished, he added.
" If we want to grant strength to the Palestinians to help them
develop their society, we have to empower them through easing their
life and giving them hope," the King said.


What we are trying to do is to prevent what has happened
with the previous government, the King said. When the Palestinians
are asked to implement ten different issues together and this indeed
what has happened, they fulfilled what they were asked to do, but
in return, they received nothing. Rather, they were asked to do more
and more to the extent that made Abu Mazen unable to continue, King
Abdullah added.


He warned that if the present Palestinian Prime Minister is
set to failure, nobody can predict what might happen, therefore it
is our responsibility as a whole to make his government succeed in
building the Palestinian institutions.


Any solution to the Palestinian issue should be within a defined
time frame and if there isn't such a time table, we will find ourselves
waiting for another ten years of violence and destruction in the Middle
East, King Abdullah said.


Referring to the situation in Iraq, King Abdullah said bringing
Iraq back to the international community will be a great positive
step that contributes to stability in the Middle East. However, he
reiterated that the Palestinian problem is the core issue and most
of the Arab efforts focus on resolving this issue, which has been
the cause of instability in the region.