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Jordan King: No peace in Mideast without solving Palestinian issue

Dead Sea Jordan, March 29 (KUNA) -- Jordan's King Abdullah II, president of the 28 Arab summit which convened on Wednesday, stressed on significance of the Palestinian cause for all Arab nations, stressing that "there is no peace and stability in the region without resolving the Palestinian issue." "Israel continues to expand settlements and undermine opportunities for peace," King Abdullah II said in a speech at the opening session of the summit.
"There is no peace and stability in the region without resolving the Palestinian cause, which is the central issue in the Middle East," King Abdullah II added.
He called for unified Arab action to protect Al-Quds Al-Sharif Mosque and confront Israel's attempts "for imposing a new reality which will be a disaster for the stability of the region" -- clearly alluding to the Israelis' plots to Judaize the holy city.
"We are closely sensing suffering of the Palestinian people and our people in Jerusalem in particular," he added.
The Hashemite Kingdom's guardianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem is a historic responsibility that Jordan has the honor and carry on behalf of Arab and Islamic nations," King Abdullah II said.
On challenges facing the Arab region, King Abdullah said, "we have several challenges, notably extremism and terrorism that threaten our region and distort our true religion and seek to hijack our Arab youths." The Jordanian Monarch expressed his hope that recent talks in Geneva and Astana would lead to a "breakthrough," launch of a political process and return of the refugees, pointing out that his country hosts more than 1.3 million refugees -- the largest number of Syrian refugees hosted by a single country.
In his speech, King Abdullah reiterated his support for the Iraqi government's efforts to combat terrorism in preparation for launching a comprehensive political process, with participation of all Iraqi factions.
King Abdullah II affirmed support for all efforts to restore stability in Yemen and Libya and achieve a promising future for peoples of these nations.
At the end of his speech, he stressed on taking the initiative at Amman Summit by developing "historic solutions that would prevent external forces from penetrating the Arab region and agreeing that common challenges require common solutions." (pickup previous) amm.mjb.mb.rk