Obstacles to Peace

I think such a step as is concluded today will inevitably trigger those who want to destroy life, destroy hope, create fear in the hearts and minds of people, trigger in them their worst instincts. They will be skeptical on the surface, but if they can, they will cause damage, wherever they are and wherever they belong. Let’s hope that the overwhelming majority of us—those who are committed to the future, those who know what responsibilities they hold now—will be able, through steady progress and a determined combined joint effort, be able to thwart their aims and their objectives and move—and maybe, God willing, witness the dawn that we are always seeking of a comprehensive peace in our entire region.

Those who speak in the language of war do not realize the meaning of war or the value of humans, nor do they realize the consequences on the present and the future of people. This does not mean that the answer is in our hands. The answer is in the hands of Israel and its government. We can try to achieve this objective through contacts with the Israeli people and officials.

We are dealing with complexes, fears, problems inherited from the past. Despite the fact that they are extremely powerful, probably more so than many in the area—as they have demonstrated time and again—one must realize that they (Israelis) also have an innate fear of the future, owing to the experiences the Jewish people have had in their past. To remove these fears, to create the atmosphere of peace, you have to do everything you can to break the walls that have separated people for so long and enable them to get together.

Despite Israel's strength and capabilities, there is a factor of fear and horror that was left by the past and the experiences through which they passed. So, if you cannot remove this you will not be able to get what you want or what you deserve. There is a wall between us. When we move this wall or bring it down, we find that we are all human beings with similar problems, hardships, and tribulations.

Address to Members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches
Amman
May 20, 1998

And speaking of security, I think that we have extremists from both sides that have tried to force their agenda on this area, and on this region, and it’s about time that they were made unable to continue in this way. So we will wait and see how things develop, but I hope we will move away from Israel being moved into a fortress and Israelis being forced to be living in a fortress, with a fortress mentality, towards opening up to the area—particularly to our Palestinian brethren—and to all of us, so that we can have further building blocks leading to the comprehensive peace we seek.

Press Conference with Swiss President Flavio Cotti
Amman
May 16, 1998

I believe that the person and the government who can change the present situation is Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government. And I believe we have some clear signs, a clear foundation, namely the Madrid Conference. We have the land for peace principle. We have the Oslo Agreements. We have a very important point which unfortunately does not seem to be clear to everybody, namely that negotiations must be based on mutual respect from both sides as a condition for reaching a peace agreement.

Interview with Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten newspaper
April 26, 1998

Violence there has been. Tragic, painful, hurtful, condemned by so many, abhorred by so many. But it is the work of a minority. A minority here and a minority there, who cannot move, who cannot think, who cannot break away from their prejudices and shortsightedness.

Some even claim this is the way to God. In my belief, from the innermost of my heart, I believe this is the way which is exactly the opposite, and those are the enemies of life, the enemies of humanity, the enemies of peace and stability, the enemies of security. They are there, they will continue to be there, and they may be quieter at times, if we are more aware and able to cope with them and what they represent in the way of a threat. Or if they feel that things are going badly for the cause of peace, then they are satisfied that they have contributed towards that end, and therefore they are relatively quiet.

Address to Representatives of the German Media
Baden Baden, Germany
April 24, 1998

There is nothing worse than fear, and there is nothing more criminal than trying to instill fear in the minds and in the hearts of people, or revive old fears. We will continue to do our utmost to fight terrorism wherever and whenever we can and wherever it rears its head, its ugly head. We have paid with Jordanian lives in the past. Palestinians have paid, Israelis have paid. It is a common enemy. The struggle is between the overwhelming majority of people that belong to the camp of peace and the minority who oppose it.

Address to Representatives of the German Media
Baden Baden, Germany
April 24, 1998

In the way of give and take at this stage of negotiations, of progress, of charting the path towards peace, I believe all of us agree that we must insist and accept no less than to have agreements reached as sacrosanct. We cannot change our minds time and again. We cannot alter facts because we haven’t thought enough during a process leading to a certain decision and conclusion. And as to the facts and the foundations, let me recite them briefly. Peace will be based on Security Council Resolution 242, i.e. land for peace; the Madrid Conference; the Oslo Agreement; negotiations leading to the Hebron Agreement, with the United States’ commitment to ensuring implementation, of which Jordan is a witness; the continued acceptance of the United States in particular as a partner, and I repeat partner, in bringing about comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. An objective, active partner is, in our firm view, neither a perpetual messenger between the parties, nor a silent, immaterial observer.

Address to Representatives of the German Media
Baden Baden, Germany
April 24, 1998

We must try to address those inside and outside Israel, the Jewish community in the world, and many of them are prepared to listen to us. Some of them may be closer to us than to the situation that prevails in Israel or to some of the policies of the Israeli government, when we talk of a just peace that satisfies all the criteria that we have mentioned.

On the other hand, if we leave this approach in favor of treating Israel as a monolith, that helps those in Israel who seek to return their people to the fortress mentality, according to which they must defend themselves violently and ferociously. It would be a shame to lose the peace camp. Why should we not have dialogue with them? Our rights are well known. We are strong in justice, God willing, always. But we must know how to behave in peace and stability.

Interview with Orbit Television
February 25, 1998

It seems to me from what is happening now in Israel that there are people who try to turn the clock backward and to overcome all agreements. But at the same time, there should be a large group of people who are aware of the dangers that we are facing if this inclination continues. He who tries to frighten people from peace is not only an enemy of peace, but also an enemy of life.

Remarks to a Delegation of Visiting “Arab Israeli” Deputies
January 26, 1998

These are times characterized by uncertainty and confusion, even bordering on apprehension towards the quest for a just and comprehensive peace, in the wake of what appears to be a continuous attempt on the part of the Israeli prime minister to demolish the Palestinian-Israeli Oslo agreements, and change the very essence and facets of the peace process. His emphasis seems to be on the objective of implanting a fear of peace in the Israeli society, instead of a serious drive towards attaining it as a means to remove all the causes of fear, and instilling the elements of mutual respect, confidence and collaboration between equals, in order to avert a certain coming catastrophe in its absence. Such a catastrophe, God forbid, will not spare the Israeli people nor the Arab people, foremost among them the Palestinians. Perhaps not even the entire world. Unfortunately, it is a small group of enemies of peace and life, advocates of death, despair and destruction in both Israel and the Arab world, that has led everyone towards this state of worry and anxiety.

Letter to Prime Minister Abdel Salaam al-Majali
Amman
December 4, 1997

The peace process has faltered recently as a result of the Israeli government's obstinacy and stubbornness. But we remain in firm belief that people's determination in the choice of peace will finally overcome all the obstacles until the entire region enjoys the dream of progress and prosperity.

Speech from the Throne
Opening of the Thirteenth Parliament
Amman
November 29, 1997
December 4, 1997

As for Israel, a distinction should be drawn between the position of the government and the position of the people.

Speech from the Throne
Opening of the Thirteenth Parliament
Amman
November 29, 1997

The Jordanian-Israeli Peace Treaty, the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty—all that has been achieved so far—will definitely be in question if there isn’t a strict adherence to all agreements with Israel, and their implementation.

These agreements are sacred. They cannot be tampered with or toyed with in any way. We are laying the foundations for our future here. If, in the times ahead, we do not recognize what our predecessors have achieved, where will that leave us? It will lead us right back to all the doubts, suspicions and fears we thought we had left behind.

Interview with Global Viewpoint
The Washington Times
October 13, 1996

If people with a sense of responsibility control the situation, peace is still irreversible. But we have had extremists on both sides. First, we had the Hebron massacre in 1994. We had the acts of violence inside Israel. We had extremists who assassinated my grandfather. We had extremists who killed Rabin.

I am very distressed to sense now that the closed-minded people are influencing the movement of events in the opposite direction of peace. I am distressed that the minority is able to intimidate the vast majority of us in the whole region.

Interview with Global Viewpoint
The Washington Times
October 13, 1996

I want to say a simple thing, that the dividing line exists not between Jordan and Israel, but between the proponents of peace and the opponents of peace.

Interview with Point de Vue magazine
December 9, 1995

Over the years there have been many attempts to find solutions to the problems of the Middle East. None so far has been successful. In such situations, there are three alternatives. The easiest and by far the most dangerous is the policy of procrastination of drifting from one danger to another. This eventually winds up in the second alternative, direct confrontation. We have experienced this many times. And we know that it solves nothing. The third alternative is the one that holds the best hope for eventual peace, negotiating under the auspices of an outside mediator. We have committed ourselves to outside mediation with the conviction that the world will realize that what it is seeking—peace in the Middle East—will finally be dependent on the restoration of the rights of the Palestinians and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from all Arab territory that they are currently occupying.

Address to the National Press Club
Washington, DC
December 10, 1970