Jordan’s Abdullah: two-state solution is basis for Mideast peace

The summit’s host, King Abdullah of Jordan, said the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel remained the basis of any comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is among 22 leaders attending the Arab League for the meeting in Sweimeh on the Dead Sea coast from 0900 GMT. The Palestinian issue and the decade-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict will feature high on the summit’s agenda, in addition to the situation in Syria, war on terrorism and pan-Arab cooperation, according to a copy of the draft resolutions.

Donald Trump’s worldwide envoy has told officials at an Arab summit that the USA president believes an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is possible and would “reverberate positively throughout the region and the world”. Arab capitals see in this decision to move the United States embassy in Jerusalem a “red line” that is likely to inflame the Islamic and Arab streets and would serve as a gift to extremists.

In January an Egyptian court rejected a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. “We’re very pleased with the outcome of the Arab foreign ministers’ discussions during their preparatory meeting on Monday, in which they reiterated that the Palestinian cause is most pressing and needs to be addressed in order to secure regional and global stability and security”.

The report added that Israeli and Arab leaders are questioning what the summit would deliver in terms of concrete policy, and fear it could raise false hope for a peace deal – especially among the Palestinians, which could lead to violence in Israel if an accord fails to materialize.

He also reiterated Jordan’s support for a political solution for the crisis in Syria.

“We are a nation that seeks peace, and we would like the global community to stand with us in our efforts to attain peace”, he said.

The Palestinians want to set up a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967.

Diplomatic sources in Muscat and news media in Tehran highlighted days ago that Oman warned the Jordanian government against adopting an openly anti-Iranian stance by the Arab League.

At the opening of the summit, which is held in Jordan for the fourth time, King Abdullah II of Jordan referred to Israel’s continued settlement expansion to undermine chances for peace. Relations between these two pillars of the Arab world have been tense over Syria, with Egypt open to considering a political future for Mr Al Assad and Saudi Arabia – and other Gulf states – firmly opposed to the idea. They will discuss how to defeat Islamic State militants and efforts to pursue peace and stability in the region, the White House said in a statement.