Tuesday, Sep 20, 2011


   (From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) 
   By Jay Solomon

NEW YORK -- Jordan's king warned that Israel's stance in peace talks and Syria's crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents are adding to the risks of instability in the Middle East.

King Abdullah II said his optimism for his own country's political future is being tempered by regional threats, especially by the international stalemate in negotiations to create an independent Palestinian state, in which he said Israel's leaders are "sticking their heads in the sand."

"If we can't get the Israelis and Palestinians together in this next couple of days, then what signal is that for the future process?" the 49-year-old monarch said in an interview on Monday in New York, where he is attending meetings at the United Nations. "If we are . . . back to the drawing board, I think we're back beyond that," he said. "It will have a very negative impact, I think, on all of us."

The Jordanian leader said he is confident his government has gotten out ahead of the democratic-protest wave that has swept the Middle East this year, initiating constitutional and political changes aimed at eventually allowing his country's prime minister to be popularly elected.

But the monarch said his government is closely watching the political rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria and its impact on the wider region.

Amman has strong trade ties to Damascus. And many Jordanian tribes and families have relatives in Syria. King Abdullah and Mr. Assad succeeded their fathers within months of each another more than a decade ago, raising hopes of more modern leadership among leading Arab states.

King Abdullah said he spoke twice earlier this year to Mr. Assad "to discuss about the challenges we're facing and how we could be supportive in lessons learned. But at that time, the Syrians weren't interested in what we had to say."

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab states that have signed peace agreements with Israel since its founding in 1948. Despite this, Jordan's ruler said "there is an unhealthy relationship people-to-people" between Israelis and Jordanians, in part, because of the Palestinian issue. More than 50% of Jordan's population is of Palestinian origin.

The king said he has been encouraged, at times, by public statements Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made about the peace process. But Jordan's leader charged in a 30-minute discussion that Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly failed to live up to his rhetoric.

"Everything we've seen on the ground has been completely the opposite," King Abdullah said. "[There's] increasing frustration, because they're sticking their heads in the sand and pretending there isn't a problem."

On Monday, Israeli officials denied King Abdullah's charge and said the Palestinians have rejected numerous Israeli overtures to engage in direct peace talks. They also said the Arab states didn't respond to Israel's 2009 decision to put in place a 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank with confidence-building measures of their own.

"Not only did the Arab countries, including Jordan, not agree to make any symbolic gestures [toward Israel], but they have been criticizing Israel ever since," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

Palestinian leaders this week plan to press the U.N. Security Council for statehood recognition, an issue that has topped the agenda of the world gathering.

Jordan has found itself immersed in the democratic surge that has engulfed the Middle East and North Africa since January. The protests in the Arab monarchy have been small in comparison to the political rebellions that have engulfed Syria and Egypt, and resulted in the overthrow of Cairo's long-serving ruler, Hosni Mubarak.

But many of the demands voiced by Jordan's protesters have been similar: greater economic opportunity and political representation and a crackdown on government corruption. And the protests have proved enduring, including one outside the Israeli Embassy last week that called for the scrapping of Amman's peace treaty with the Jewish state.

King Abdullah said he recognizes the legitimacy of many of the protesters' demands.

"I think we are way ahead of the curve, because we have a plan. . .so we have a new Jordan as quickly as possible," he said. "I don't know if that could be said for many countries in the region. Some of them may be going from an Arab Spring to an Arab Summer to an Arab Winter."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

20-09-11 0359GMT