King Abdullah: The Palestinian, Israeli sides are crippled

The Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday urged Europe to play a key role, in an agreement with the US to push forward Israel and the Palestinians to end their differences.

He also called on the Israeli government to approve the initiative proposed by the Saudi crown prince on trading land for peace and renewed his support for convening an international peace conference in the Middle East.

In a speech he delivered on Wednesday before the European Parliament in Strasbourg the Jordanian King called on all " sides concerned to draw a timetable for the Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian territories and declare the possibility of achieving an independent Palestinian state."

He stressed that the " two sides, the Palestinian and the Israelis are crippled, at current conditions, to take appropriate step in order to reach a reasonable final solution." He stressed that " Israel can not ignore the initiative of the Saudi crown prince " approved by the Arab summit held in March in Beirut." We should not make the ( peace ) process confined to the mood who choose to obstruct peace," in remarks to the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.