Jordan's King Abdullah makes plea for two states

In an interview with Ha'aretz, King Abdullah II of Jordan made a case for achieving a two-state solution rather than continuing with the status quo.

"Is Israel going to be fortress Israel or is it going to be part of the neighborhood? Because if there is no two-state solution, what future do we all have together?" he asked in an exclusive interview on Tuesday at his palace in Amman at the height of the disturbances in East Jerusalem.

"Show me the future of Israel 10 years from now. Where do you want Israel to be vis-a-vis its relationship with Jordan and other Arab countries? I understand that you tend to live in the here and now. You are worried about the next threat. It is difficult for an Israeli to look into the future because of the security aspect. But if there is peace and stability, then people can look into the future."

The King reflected on his father's relationship with Yitzhak Rabin and called for resuming talks based on previous understandings.

With the Israel-Jordan peace treaty approaching its 15th anniversary, the 48-year-old Jordanian leader recalled the glory days of relations between the two neighboring countries. He spoke of the feelings of friendship and faith his father, the late King Hussein, had for Yitzhak Rabin. He said that unfortunately, "our relationship is getting colder."

The king, who this year marked his 10th anniversary on the throne, attributes the gap between the two countries to foot-dragging on negotiations with the Palestinians and the settlement policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Abdullah called for a renewal of talks on the basis of understandings that had been reached with previous Israeli governments, and not to begin from point zero.