Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat must "step up to the plate" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jordan's King Abdullah II said.
"I think that he's been trying very hard over the past two years to bring a political solution, but he has to definitely step up to the plate today and do a lot more," Abdullah told NBC's Meet The Press news program on Sunday.
The Jordanian leader added that Israel's recent military incursions into Palestinian territories had boosted Arafat's popularity among the people.
"It made him so popular that it put him in a position where it was very difficult to get the process back on peace. In other words, the rage on the Arab streets propelled him to new heights, and that was unfortunate," he said.
Noting that Arab leaders had had their "ups and downs" with Arafat, Abdullah nevertheless reiterated still had regional support. "He has our full support, simply because he is the elected leader of the Palestinian people and because we believe in the future of a viable independent state and an end to occupation very quickly," he said.
The world’s most wanted fugitive and Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden would find himself strengthened by the current conflict between Israelis and Palestinians "if he is alive," Jordan's King Abdullah II said during a U.S. television interview Sunday, cited by AFP.
On NBC's Meet the Press, Abdullah warned that the Israeli offensive risked shifting an entire generation of young Arabs into the extremist camp.
"In the past three or four weeks, since the start of the Israeli incursions into the West Bank, definitely, if he is alive, (Osama bin Laden's) position would be stronger," Abdullah said.
Seventy-five percent of the Arab population is under 30 years of age, and they are motivated by extremist language on Arab-language television, Abdullah said.
"If we don't have a chance to getting the Palestinians a future, then there is a chance of losing this young generation, who basically want education, health care (and) a bright future where they can have an ability to move forward with dignity," he said. "And what a mess it's going to be for the region if we do (lose them)."
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Sunday, Abdullah also warned about growing extremism amongst young Arabs.
"I don't want to frighten people about September 11 scenarios," Abdullah said. "But if you have a militant region, it's going to take decades to fix."
Abdullah added, "If I were Osama bin Laden now, and I originally thought I'd lost, I'd be coming out of my cave and thinking, 'Ah, maybe I have a chance now'.
If world leaders do not "articulate a vision" of Middle East peace "in the in the next couple of weeks, that rage is going to come back and it's going to be twice as strong," Abdullah warned.
Iraq
Regarding Iraq, the Jordanian monarch said imminent military action by the United States would lead to widespread turmoil in the Middle East. "If there's any sensitivity to what's going on between Israelis and Palestinians now, moving on Iraq at this stage would be tremendous instability in the area and one that I don't think the Arab world could handle," the king said.
Any U.S. move "would really create massive disturbances throughout all Arab countries," Abdullah said. "It would threaten a lot of countries." Jordan's future would not be threatened, but "people would be very angry and very upset," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
