King Abdullah II of Jordan wrote to the U.S President, George W. Bush urging him to "explore all opportunities to achieve the president’s vision for a two-state solution”, and to help in restarting the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
King Abdullah stated in his letter that a deterioration of the security situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip could affect his nation and kingdom. The statement came in a release by the royal palace on Friday.
He also stated in his letter that the Israeli unilateral action “will have negative repercussions on the Palestinians, Arab and Muslim countries". And that any deterioration of the situation in Palestine could have adverse consequences on Jordan and could spill violence there.
The king added that any Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories is welcomed by Jordan if it is negotiated with the Palestinian leadership in the person of Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
Jordan voiced repeated statements urging Abbas and Israel to negotiate over a peace deal, but the Palestinian-Jordanian relationship was stunned over the April 18 discovery of a large cache of weapons smuggled into Jordan.
Hamas was accused of being behind this weapon cache, but the movement strongly denied it.
According to Jordanian officials, the weapon were to be used in attacks against institutions and officials in Jordan. After the discovery of the weapon cache, Jordan canceled a visit by Mahmoud Zahhar, one of the top Hamas leaders in Gaza.
Nearly have of Jordan’s 5.5 million people are Palestinians who were displaced by Israel in 1948 and 1967.
