I Support Jerusalem as Capital of Israel: McCain

Jordan’s King Abdallah conferred yesterday with the Republican nominee-in-waiting for US presidential elections Sen. John McCain and urged Washington to play an “effective” role in the Middle East peace process, according to an official statement.

“The king underscored the importance of playing an effective US role to help the Palestinian and Israeli sides to go ahead with their negotiations and work out a just and durable solution that puts an end to the Israeli occupation and sets up an independent Palestinian state,” the statement from the royal court said.

McCain, meanwhile, said yesterday that he supported Israel’s claim to Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, flying in the face of the international community’s stance. “I support Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” McCain said here on the latest leg of a visit to the region.

The fate of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and renewed Israeli settlement activity in the occupied eastern part is hampering peace talks that were revived only in November.

McCain insisted that he supported the Middle East peace process. “I am committed to pursuing the Israel-Palestinian peace process and make it a high priority,” he told reporters after he toured the Roman Citadel site in downtown Amman.

“I know that the people of Israel and the Palestinian people want to see a peaceful settlement as both sides suffered enormously,” he said. King Abdallah warned against “failure” of the peace process, saying that a successful conclusion of the ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority would provide “a clue for resolving other conflicts in the region.”

McCain, who flew in from Iraq, later visited Israel and the Palestinian territories. Also attending the meeting with the king were Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

5 Journalists Sentenced

A Jordanian Court of First Instance has passed three-month jail terms against five journalists, including two chief editors, after finding them guilty of “offending” the judiciary, judicial sources said yesterday.

The condemned five include editor-in-chief of the independent daily newspaper Alarab Alyawm, Taher Adwan, and former editor in chief of the daily Al-Dustour, Osama Al-Sharif.

The five journalists were sued by the Higher Judiciary Council, the country’s highest judicial body, which is immune against criticism in accordance with the provisions of the press and publication law, the sources said.