Jordan's Plea.

Jordan's Hashemite monarchy is among the key Sunni Arab regimes aligned to the US and opposed to an Iran-led axis trying to derail a US-sponsored Middle East peace process. In a rare appearance before a joint session of Congress, King Abdullah II of Jordan on March 7 made an impassioned plea for the US to lead in the active pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace, saying without its leadership none of the region's problems would be solved. He implored Congress to exert "leadership in a peace process that delivers results not next year, not in five years, but this year".

Abdullah II pleaded for greater concern for the Palestinian people - a theme rarely heard in Congress. But it met with a relatively tepid response, paling next to the applause for his broader calls for regional peace. He said: "Sixty years of Palestinian dispossession, 40 years under occupation, a stop- and-go peace process - all this has left a bitter legacy of disappointment and despair on all sides". Palestinians grievances, the 45-year-old monarch said, were the "core issue" underlying violence throughout the region, adding: "The wellspring of regional division - the source of resentment and frustration far beyond - is the denial of justice and peace in Palestine".

His plea for Washington to play a "central role" for peace in the region came as the Bush administration, stung by setbacks from Iraq to Lebanon, has taken a broader diplomatic approach to the region, including a decision for US representatives to sit down on March 10-11 in Baghdad with Iranian, Syrian and other regional diplomats.

Abdullah II, one of the closest regional allies of the Bush administration, has tried to mediate the infighting between Hamas and Fatah. He warned: If matters continue to degrade, the region could be the scene of three civil wars: in Iraq, in Lebanon and among the Palestinians, adding: "Palestinians and Israelis are not the only victims [of their conflict]. We saw the violence ricochet into destruction in Lebanon last summer. And people around the world have been the victims of terrorists and extremists who use the grievance of this conflict to legitimise and encourage acts of violence. We must work together to restore peace, hope and opportunity to the Palestinian people, and in so doing we will begin a process of bringing peace" to the region.

The half-hour address was devoted almost entirely to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abdullah did not refer directly to Hamas or to the recent initiatives led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to give life to peace efforts.

The view that the key to unravelling Middle East tensions was resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been common outside of Washington. But critics say the Bush administration has been slow to act, preoccupied by Iraq and Afghanistan and willing to give the Israeli government considerable leeway - as it did during Israel's July/August 2006 war with Hizbullah in Lebanon. Abdullah alluded to such doubts, saying that Palestinians "ask whether the West really means what it says about equality and respect and universal justice".

Palestinians form a majority of the Jordanian population, many having come as refugees after the 1948 or 1967 Arab-Israeli wars. Abdullah II said: "Thirteen years ago, my father [the late King Hussein] was here to talk about his hopes for peace. The next time a Jordanian, a Palestinian or an Israeli comes before you, let it be to say, 'Thank you for helping peace become a reality'. Help fulfill the aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace today". For that, he received a standing ovation.

Some pro-Israel lawmakers were quick to criticise the view that the future of the Palestinians was at the heart of turmoil in the Middle East. Representative Steve Israel, a New York Democrat, said in a statement: "While...[Abdullah II] appropriately asked for a resumption of the peace process in the Middle East, he was very imbalanced in identifying the obstacles to that peace process. I expected to hear a speech about Iraq; instead, I was troubled to hear the suggestion that the fact that Sunni and Shia are murdering each other is somehow the fault of the Israelis".

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who watched Abdullah's speech from the House gallery, said: "This was not a normal speech. He put a moral and political challenge on Congress". But, Zogby added, "some will run away from it".

Representative Tom Lantos, a California Democrat, the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, attended a lunch with Abdullah and congressional leaders after the speech. Calling for a new peace initiative, Lantos later said, "is sort of unrealistic at a time when the dominant element in the Palestinian area does not recognise the existence of Israel".

Saudis Upbeat On Arab Summit: Saudi Arabia is optimistic that the March 28-29 summit in Riyadh will adopt effective resolutions on major issues such as Palestine and Iraq and open a new era of progress, reform and economic co-operation in the Arab world. The Saudi cabinet on March 5, chaired by King Abdullah, emphasised the kingdom's resolve to strengthen Islamic unity and solidarity, promote understanding among religious schools of thought (mathab) and establish closer relations among Muslim communities.

Riyadh is expected to press for a radical solution to the protracted Arab-Israeli conflict at the summit. A cabinet statement on March 5 said: "We hope Palestine will be represented at the summit by a strong unity government... It is important that the summit take effective resolutions, backing Palestinian unity, removing the economic siege that has been imposed on them and forcing Israel to respect UN resolutions".

Spelling out the kingdom's foreign policy, King Abdullah said Riyadh would establish bridges of understanding and co-operation with all peace-loving states and all forces and movements which support the peaceful coexistence of cultures and civilisations. The cabinet statement said: "Saudi Arabia's foreign policy is based on four solid principles: Establishing strong inter-Arab relations and reinforcing Arab identity, irrespective of racial, religious and mathabi differences; strengthening Islamic unity and solidarity and promoting understanding between mathabs; building bridges of understanding with all peace-loving states; working for the success of Arab and Islamic causes and contributing to world stability and prosperity".

The Arab peace initiative proposed by King Abdullah when he was crown prince in the March 2002 Arab summit in Beirut, is to be revived at the Riyadh meeing. It has been agreed upon by all 22 Arab League member-states. Its first airing in Beirut came just before then Israeli PM Ariel Sharon went on a West Bank rampage in response to a spate of Palestinian bomb attacks and it was subsequently shelved.

It is a simple plan which strictly adheres to UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions 242 and 338. It confirms that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the strategic option of Arab states. Under the plan, Israel must confirm that it, too, seeks peace and in return for recognition and security it must withdraw from all land occupied during the 1967 war, accept the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and achieve a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem under the terms of UN Resolution 194. The main sticking point from Israel's point of view is the reference to UN General Assembly Resolution 194 - in particular Paragraph 11 which relates to the rights of Palestinians displaced in 1948: "Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the governments or authorities responsible".

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has said the Arab plan would not be considered unless demands for Palestinians to return to their homes within Israel proper were dropped. Israel is concerned about maintaining a demographic balance so that Jews outnumber non-Jews. Fears are that should there be more Arab Israelis than Jewish Israelis, Israel would no longer be able to label itself a Jewish state and would have to fend off calls for a one-state solution.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in Cairo on March 4 told reporters: "The peace plan is the property of Arabs, not Saudi Arabia. If they want to change or develop it, it's totally an Arab decision". Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on March 4 that "the Arab peace initiative expresses an Arab consensus and will not be redrafted as demanded by some foreign powers".

Referring to Libya's decision not to attend the Riyadh summit, Prince Saud said: "It is the discretion of the host country to decide whether the summit be held in Arab League headquarters or in its country". Libyan Foreign Liaison Secretary (minister) Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said: The Arab world "is not serious" and that "joint Arab action is dysfunctional", adding: "Arab joint action is marred by disorder... Libya is insisting on a real Arab mechanism - not policies of axes, groups and unilateral changes to decisions".

Prince Saud said Saudi Arabia had never considered Iran as an enemy, adding: "If the kingdom had considered Iran its enemy,...King Abdullah would not have received President Mahmoud Ahmedi-Nejad in Riyadh". However, he advised Tehran to avoid confrontation with the US to reinforce the stability of the region.

IAEA Report On Iran: In opening remarks to a gathering of the 35-state board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), IAEA Director-General Muhammad ElBaradei on March 5 said: "Iran's verification case is sui generis (one of a kind). Unlike other verification cases, the IAEA's confidence about the nature of Iran's programme has been shaken because of two decades of undeclared activities (until 2003). This confidence will only be restored when Iran takes the long overdue decision to explain and answer all the agency's questions and concerns about its past nuclear activities in an open and transparent manner" (Iran rejects Western suspicions that it is trying to master nuclear bomb technology under the cover of a civilian atomic energy programme, saying it only wants to generate electricity. Tehran has also complained of unfair treatment, noting the IAEA has found no hard evidence of diversions into bomb making).

Tehran has characterised sanctions as a US-led plot to stunt its economic development and topple its Shi'ite theocracy. But UN officials say IAEA investigations meant to verify that Tehran's work was wholly peaceful have been stalled by Iranian evasions since 2004.