Jordan’s King Hussein has spoken out against the recent wave of armed violence by Palestinians against Israeli civilians in the administered territories.
In an interview published Monday in the French daily Le Figaro, Hussein said, “There may be a minority willing to torpedo all peace efforts, but we should not allow this minority to achieve its aim.”
The king pronounced himself in favor of democracy and human rights in the Arab states.
“Democracy must exist. Human rights must be respected. I hope the Arab world, as a whole, will understand that it has to go in this direction, that these reforms are mandatory,” the king was quoted as saying.
He expressed hope that the Arab world would evolve like Europe has done in recent times, so “that the walls of fear, suspicion and doubt will fall down.
“I know that saying this, I make myself rather unpopular,” he admitted. “But I am sure I am echoing the feelings of the Arab people.”
Hussein deplored the use of religion as a political tool. “Islam is not the property of a small group. No one can pretend to have the monopoly of truth,” he said.
The king said he had tried in vain to convince the Syrians to participate in the multinational conference on Middle East regional issues that opened Tuesday in Moscow.
Syria and Lebanon, which participated in bilateral talks with Israel in Washington, boycotted the Moscow conference. Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries attended.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
