US role a must for Mideast peace
washington — King Abdullah of Jordan said in an interview aired on Sunday that the United States remains essential to any hope of a peaceful solution between Israel and the Palestinians, despite widespread criticism of the new US stance on Jerusalem.
“We cannot have a peace process or a peace solution without the role of the United States,” the monarch said on the CNN programme “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” in an interview at the economic summit in Davos.
He said this was true even after President Donald Trump decided to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv — where nearly every other country has its embassy. In December, Jordan called Trump’s move “a violation of decisions of international law and the United Nations charter,” and Abdullah reiterated his concerns to Vice-President Mike Pence who visited the Middle East last month.
Abdullah noted on Sunday that Trump’s decision had “created a backlash” by leaving Palestinians feeling “that there isn’t an honest broker.”
But, he added, “I’d like to reserve judgment, because we’re still waiting for the Americans to come out with their (peace) plan.”
Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestinian state and had hoped that peace talks might someday bring international recognition of that status.
“I think we have to give the Americans the benefit of the doubt and all work together” once the White House issues a peace plan, Abdullah said, while adding that “if it is not a good plan... I don’t think we’ve got a Plan B at this stage,” the king added. —