King Abdullah II: Peace with Israel makes no sense

"To us, peace always was and remains a strategic choice. But popular frustration at Israeli policies is at a peak across the region and even traditionally moderate parties and groups are starting to question whether seeking or keeping peace with Israel makes sense any more," said the Jordanian king in a Saturday interview with Turkish Policy Quarterly magazine.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whose country was the scene of protests last year, made reference to the growing wave of Islamic Awakening across the Middle East and North Africa, and pointed out, “The Arab uprisings have obviously increased Israel’s isolation.”

The Jordanian king noted that the storming of the Israeli embassy in Cairo by the Egyptian revolutionaries in September 2011 was an “evident” manifestation of Tel Aviv’s growing isolation.

He cited former US President Bill Clinton as saying a few years ago that Israel would only negotiate from a position of strength and argued that “a position of strength is not where they (the Israelis) are today.”

The Israelis are continually “breaking ranks with the US on Iran, having damaged their relations with Turkey, and facing growing popular resentment and increasing isolation from their Arab neighbors, including the very moderate ones," Abdullah pointed out.

Since early 2011, the spreading democratic movements across the Arab world have led to the collapse or destabilization of the US-backed authoritarian regimes, which either have been considered as Israel’s regional allies or adopted passive policies towards Tel Aviv’s aggressions.

Apart from the beleaguered Arab allies, Israel has lost Turkey as its strategic Middle Eastern ally after Israeli forces killed nine Turkish nationals during an attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced plans to reconsider all its security, political and economic agreements with Israel in the coming days and call for a Palestinian uprising against Tel Aviv.

The developments come against the backdrop of a recent agreement between rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, to form a transitional unity government.