BICOM

Labour leader Avi Gabbay met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman yesterday.

They discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and options to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks. Jordanian media reported: “King Abdullah stressed the need to revive the peace process, based on the two-state solution, and in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel, in peace and security”. The King said also said Jerusalem must be settled within the framework of final-status issues and on the basis of the two-state solution.

Gabbay expressed his deep appreciation for the peace between Israel and Jordan, and thanked the King for his continued efforts to promote stability in the region.

In an interview on Kan radio news Gabbay said a regional arrangement, in the context of two states for two peoples, could be reached with the Arab countries. He said a blame game has been played for last decade, in which both sides accused one another to avoid making the necessary compromises for peace.

In his address to the UN General Assembly, King Abdullah II said: “We need to support full funding of UNRWA and other vital efforts to protect families, keep communities stable, and prepare young people for productive lives.” He rejected the idea of a one-state solution in which Palestinians would be absorbed into Israel, saying the proposal had an “ugly, undemocratic reality”. “There is no such thing as a unilateral agreement; it takes at least two parties to make an agreement. Helping the parties achieve that agreement, and work together to build a new future, deserves the strong, steady support of all our world,” he added.

Latest polling in Israel predicts that Gabbay’s Zionist Union would lose half its seats in a future election, decreasing from 24 to 12. Another poll found that only 4 per cent of Israelis would support Gabbay to become the next Prime Minister.