Jordan's King Abdullah warns Israel about risk of instability in the region

The King of Jordan has warned that Israel’s position on the peace process increases the risk of instability in the Middle East. In an interview in the Wall Street Journal, King Abdullah II expressed his belief that Israeli leaders are “sticking their heads in the sand”.

King Abdullah is in the United States to attend the meetings of the UN General Assembly. He told the WSJ that if the international community can’t get the Israelis and Palestinians together over the next few days then it doesn’t bode well for the future of the peace process: “It will have a very negative impact on all of us in the region,” he claimed.

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“There is an unhealthy relationship today over the Palestinian issue,” said Abdullah. “What we see on the ground isn’t reflected in personal statements. This is very frustrating because the Israelis are sticking their heads in the sand and pretending that there isn’t a problem.”

America and Israel will become more isolated over the issue and the Zionist state will come under increasing pressure, believes the Jordanian monarch. “I know that there are Israelis who are saying that the Arab Spring is a good thing for them, but I don’t think that is necessarily the case as we’ve seen by recent events [in Cairo].”

The effect of a US veto of the Palestinian application for UN membership as an independent state will, said King Abdullah, be very negative across the Middle East. “People in the region are making their aspirations known very clearly and, again I say, Israel will become more isolated.” The leaders in Israel must stop denying that the Palestinian issue involves them, he added, otherwise it is going to be very difficult for them to engage with us in the future.