Jordan king calls for joint Arab-EU-US action for peace

AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan's King Abdullah II called on Wednesday for Arab states, Brussels and Washington to join forces in Middle East peace efforts, in talks with visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

He stressed "the need to launch joint Arab, European and US action to hold serious negotiations leading to a settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of two states," the palace said in a statement.

"We should unite the efforts of the international community ... as stipulated in the Arab peace plan, avoiding the launch of a new peace initiative," the king said.

He was referring to international support for a two-state solution and an Arab initiative offering normal ties with the Jewish state in exchange for its withdrawal from occupied land.

"The international community must assume its responsibilities by quickly resolving the roots of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," King Abdullah told Solana.

The European Union envoy said the priority was to reach a long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

"What we want to achieve is to have a ceasefire which produces calm for a period of time which is long and is respected by everybody. I hope that we can move in that direction," he said.

"The situation is still very fragile and therefore to make a ceasefire solid is very important for the people who suffer and very important for the distribution of humanitarian aid."

Solana held talks earlier on Wednesday with Israeli Social Affairs Minister Izaac Herzog on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where more than 1,300 Palestinians died in a 22-day war launched on December 27.