Jordan's King Abdullah has a proposition for the new Israeli prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu: The payoff for a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem is that Israel will get a 23-state solution, or even a 57-state solution--in the form of recognition by nations that don't now have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
What's interesting about Abdullah's approach is that it provides a possible way out of the collision that seems to be ahead between the Obama administration and Netanyahu over the Palestinian issue. Obama is committed to the two-state approach; Netanyahu publicly has resisted it. Abdullah's formulation--of a broader regional framework that gives Israel more tangible benefits from peacemaking--may provide a bridge.
The Jordanian monarch made his case for a regional approach to peacemaking in an interview at his Washington hotel Thursday. He outlined some of the ideas he had shared earlier this week in private meetings with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Abdullah said he had come to Washington to reaffirm the peace proposal endorsed in 2002 by the 22 members of the Arab League, which would extend recognition to Israel in exchange for creation of a Palestinian state. But he broadened the list in the interview, arguing that a two-state solution would bring acceptance by all the nations that don't now recognize Israel's existence.
"The prize for Israel is 57 states," the Jordanian monarch said. He said his regional approach was "the best way of guaranteeing the long-term security of Israel."
Abdullah said it was crucial, given Arab frustration with the failure of the Annapolis process under President Bush, that Obama move quickly to direct negotiations over final-status issues. "Today, the 'peace process' is over, finished. What we're talking about is an endgame--direct to negotiations," he said.
Abdullah said he hoped the Obama administration would adopt this regional framework, and that President Obama would launch a process of negotiations this summer, before he loses the glow of popularity he now commands in the Arab world.
"The tremendous good will the president has in the Middle East, the hope that's out there, will quickly switch is we go past mid-summer and nothing has been announced. Early signals are crucial," the king said.
The Obama administration is interested in the regional approach Abdullah outlined, but a senior official said in an interview Thursday that final decisions about U.S. negotiating strategy hadn't been made yet.
Abdullah said a U.S.-led regional strategy could provide an umbrella for other negotiations, such as Israel-Syria talks, in addition to the Palestinian track. "If you don't have a regional approach, there's a tendency for bilateral talks to get ahead of themselves and disrupt the regional picture," the king explained. "If you have a regional approach, nobody will want to miss that."
Netanyahu's hard-line views have roused concerns in Washington that he and the new U.S. administration are headed for a confrontation. But Abdullah said that Netanyahu had recently sent a private emissary to Amman, and that his views on the Palestinian issue may be more forthcoming than his public statements.
"He sent a message that he's committed to peace with the Arabs," Abdullah said. "All the words I heard were the right words." When I pressed the king whether that meant Netanyahu had indicated privately that he might be willing to discuss creation of a Palestinian state, Abdullah answered: "Without getting him in trouble, the message I got was all positive."
The Jordanian monarch's comments set the stage for what will be a crucial visit by Netanyahu to Washington--probably late next month. As Abdullah said, "We won't see the true policy until Netanyahu meets with Obama."
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