Jordan's king urges peace talks

Jordan’s king has urged Israel and the Palestinians to look to the Arab Spring uprisings for inspiration and to restart their stalled peace talks.

King Abdullah said the future for the Middle East and beyond is with the “normalcy of peace”. He spoke at today’s opening of a two-day special meeting of the Davos-based World Economic Forum held on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.

He said “short-sighted leaders may think they can shut” the door to peace – a rebuke believed directed at Israel’s right-wing government. He said a Palestinian-Israeli deal must consider Israel’s “security and acceptance” and allow for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.