WASHINGTON: In an unusual rebuke to other Muslim countries in a meeting with Jewish communal leaders, King Abdullah II of Jordan warned this week that Syria and Iran are pushing Hezbollah headed by Hassan Nasrollah to increase anti-Israeli terrorism, the Jewish newspaper Forward reported.

Partakers in the meeting said Abdullah on Tuesday told Jewish leaders that he recently offered a similar warning to Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon, predicting that Hezbollah may launch attacks either directly or through its allies in the West Bank and Gaza.

Besides the New York-based Forward newspaper, Israeli The Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth dailies also reported Abdullah II launched a stinging attack against Iran, Syria and Lebanese-based Hezbollah as the main threats to Middle East stability.

Forward said it is highly unusual for an Arab leader to lob such severe accusations at another Arab state in a meeting with American Jews.

The gathering was organized by the Jordanians and involved representatives of several organizations, including the two most influential Jewish groups on Israel-related issues, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“This was striking,” one participant said, noting that in past meetings Abdullah characterized Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as a pragmatist with whom Israel and the US ought to be talking.

Forward said the remarks appeared to be part of a wider effort by Jordan to establish itself as a key address for Middle East peacemaking and as America's main Arab ally. In recent weeks, Abdullah has backed American calls for Syrian forces to leave Lebanon, returned his country's ambassador to Israel and pushed the Arab League to adopt a resolution calling for steps toward “normalization” of relations with Israel prior to an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one participant said Abdullah II focused in the meeting with American Jewish leaders on the likelihood of Syria “trying to use such attacks to destabilize the situation between Israelis and Palestinians and divert attentions from Syria's presence in Lebanon.”

Forward reported Abdullah II spoke with American Jews in Washington as other Arab leaders arrived in Algiers to attend an Arab League summit, in which most participants voiced support for Syria's defiance in the face of international pressure to withdraw from Lebanon immediately.

Participants in the summit reaffirmed their rejection last week of Jordan monarch's proposal for some “normalization” with Israel, but did decide to “reactivate” or “re-launch” the Arab peace initiative that they ratified in 2002.

A communiqué, read loudly Wednesday at the final session of the Algiers summit, stated that peace was the Arab leaders' “strategic option” to settle the conflict with Israel.

Abdullah II boycotted the summit in protest of the other Arab leaders' rejection of his proposal for increased Israeli-Arab relations.

The Jewish newspaper further said King Abdullah, in the Washington meeting, reportedly described Iran as a long-term threat to the Israeli-Arab peace process and to regional stability — a position similar to Israel's. As for Syria, he characterized the country as a short-term threat.

According to the newspaper Abdullah told his Jewish interlocutors that his warning of a Syria-Hezbollah attempt to instigate anti-Israeli terrorism is in part based on a recent increase in infiltrations of Hezbollah members into Jordan. He said Jordanian law-enforcement agents recently caught several vehicles with armed men — suspected Hezbollah members — who crossed the border from Syria with the apparent intention to either attack Israeli targets in Jordan or to cross the border into the West Bank.

This being the case, Abdullah said, he had urged Sharon that if there were another terrorist attack against Israel, the Israelis should conduct a thorough investigation into the possibility of Hezbollah involvement before holding the Palestinian Authority responsible.

As reported by Forward, Jordan is particularly concerned that Iran will act to turn Iraq into another Shia Islamic republic.

The king said in a recent interview with Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, published in the current issue of the Middle East Quarterly: “My concern is political, not religious, revolving around Iran, Iran's political involvement inside Iraq, its relation with Syria and Hezbollah, and the strengthening of (their) political-strategic alliance. This would create a scenario where you have these four [Iran, Iran-influenced Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah] who have a strategic objective that could create a major conflict.”          

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