Jordan: Palestine Should Top U.S. Agenda

www.newsday.com By DAVID McHUGH Associated Press Writer January 26, 2003, 5:04 PM EST

DAVOS, Switzerland -- Millions of people in the Middle East believe the United States is indifferent to the region's fate, Jordan's King Abdullah said Sunday, urging Washington to commit itself anew to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Abdullah said there was little chance of avoiding war in Iraq. "We're a bit too little too late," he said. "Today I think the mechanisms are in place ... It would take a miracle to find dialogue and a peaceful solution."

He said peace must give the Palestinians a state big enough for a functioning economy, and guaranteed securities for both populations.

"With clear, committed leadership from Washington, the vast majority of Palestinians and Israelis will choose coexistence and peace," Abdullah said.

The king's remarks drew extended applause from business and political leaders, many of whom are skeptical about the U.S. push to force Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to disarm.

"Millions have been left to believe that the powerful West is indifferent or worse," Abdullah said. "Despair, hatred and division have helped extremists recruit for global campaigns of terror."

Secretary of State Colin Powell also called for a viable Palestinian state in his speech at the forum, though his larger focus was laying out reasons for U.S. concern over Iraq's failure to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

Powell urged Israel to stop constructing settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, from which the Palestinian state will be formed.

"A Palestinian state, when it's created, must be a real state, not a phony state that's diced into a thousand different pieces," he said. Amir Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, praised the reference to a "real" Palestine.

"This is a very, very positive statement about the nature of the Palestinian state and a serious message to Israel," he said.

Asked whether Powell's speech had changed his opinion on Iraq, Moussa replied, "No, but I enjoyed his speech."

Powell "did very well at relating to the mood in Davos, talked a lot about trust, talked a lot about all the positive and constructive things the United States does," said Ellen Laipson, former vice chairman of the U.S. government's National Intelligence Council and now head of the Henry L. Stimson Center think tank.

He received two standing ovations, but Laipson said she thought it was more because of the audience's respect for Powell as a person rather than for U.S. policy.

The Palestinian issue broke into a panel discussion that was supposed to be about the development of democracy in Arab countries. Prince Turki al-Faisal, former Saudi intelligence chief and newly named ambassador to Britain, warned Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., that America's perceived failure to push its ally Israel for a solution undermined Washington's standing among Arab countries.

Biden responded by saying that both sides shared blame, and challenged the audience of several hundred, some of them Arabs, to raise their hands if they thought Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat would sign a peace deal. Only a few did.

"Three of you -- OK, I won that poll," said Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also urged new efforts toward peace, saying, "We had better get about it."

Police said Sunday that three police officers were injured and 30 people were arrested when "militant activists" rampaged overnight in the Swiss capital of Bern, smashing windows and two parked cars.

Police used water cannons, tear gas and fired rubber pellets against the protesters, who were blocked from reaching the forum on Saturday. Officials said there was about $74,000 in damage.

About 1,000 anti-capitalist demonstrators marched peacefully through Davos on Saturday, but thousands more never reached the mountain resort after militants blocked the rail and road to protest security checks.