Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah II began his working visit in London by meeting with heads and members of the foreign affairs and defense committees at the British House of Common and discussed with them the current situation in the Middle East.

The King also met with influential intellectual and academic figures to discuss the challenges facing the region and ways to deal with these challenges to enhance people's sense of security and stability.

During the two meetings, His Majesty stressed the need to intensify international efforts to make the Palestinians and Israelis resume negotiations to achieve a comprehensive, just and permanent peace based on the two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative and international legitimacy resolutions.

The King said that the recent Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip has left a huge trail of destruction in its wake and in order to ensure that such aggressions do not recur, it is required that the root cause of the problem be addressed through supporting peace efforts and solving the Palestinian issue.

King Abdullah also urged the international community to intensify its efforts to start the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people there.

He also pointed to Jordan's continued efforts to provide relief and medical aid to the Palestinians in the coastal enclave through beefing up support to the Jordan field hospital in Gaza and continuing the dispatch of aid convoys by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization.

On the situation in Syria, the King spoke about the dangerous ramifications of the continuing crisis in Syria which is resulting in adding to the suffering of the Syrian people. He also pointed to the burden being shouldered by Jordan as a result of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees, far exceeding its capacities, and urged the international community to increase its support to Jordan.

"A solution to the crisis in Syria should be political rather than a military one," he added.

On Iraq, His Majesty said that Jordan was attaching utmost attention to ensure that Iraq remains secure, unified and stable with the efforts of all sections of the Iraqi society.

Regarding terrorism, His Majesty said that the expansion of terrorist groups and their ideologies that have nothing to do with Islam, are a result of failure to find solutions to the region's problems, noting that confronting such threats required an active international stance.

His Majesty said that confronting extremist groups which use religion and exposing their intentions and their takfiri ideology can only happen through spreading the values of tolerance, coexistence and moderation that reflect the true essence of Islam.

The British parliamentarians and academic and intellectual figures praised the efforts of His Majesty to bring about peace and stability in the region. They also voiced understanding of the hardships facing Jordan, mainly in the economic field.

*Petra