Amman- Jordan's King Abdullah II pressed on Britain the need
for 'serious negotiations' between the new Israeli government and the
Palestinians over a two-state solution on Thursday, in a meeting with
the British Foreign Secretary.
David Miliband, speaking at a joint press conference following the
meeting, expressed Britain's concerns at Israeli plans to demolish
scores of houses in East Jerusalem, leaving around 1,500 Palestinians
homeless.
It was Miliband's first trip to Amman as foreign secretary, where
he also met Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, in talks which
also took in the global financial crisis.
'The monarch discussed with Miliband efforts being exerted with a
view to launch serious negotiations to settle the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict on the basis of the two-state solution,' a royal court
statement said.
'King Abdullah underscored the importance of the role of Europe
and the world community in pushing forward the peace talks between
the Palestinian and Israeli sides towards the establishment of just
peace based on relevant UN resolutions and the Arab peace
initiative,' it added.
King Abdullah's remarks reflected concerns on the part of the
Jordanian leadership as to the future of the Arab-Israeli peace
process after the new right-wing Israeli government, led by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to unequivocally support the
two-state formula.
Jordanians have been also worried by reports from Israel about
plans backed by the new cabinet to speed up the building of
settlements in East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel from
Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day war along with the rest of the West Bank.
Miliband expressed his country's worries over plans by the new
Israeli government to demolish scores of Palestinian homes in an East
Jerusalem suburb and turn about 1,500 Palestinians homeless.
'We view with real concern the proposed demolition in East
Jerusalem,' the British Foreign Secretary said at a press conference
he jointly addressed with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh.
'Jerusalem should be the capital of the Palestinians and Israel,'
he added.
The United Nations still considers East Jerusalem an occupied
city and both Jordan and the Palestinians insist that there would be
no peace in the region before Israel quits East Jerusalem so as it
become the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
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