[With video] King of Jordan: Israel will have demographic problem even if
leave West Bank
Dr. Aaron Lerner IMRA Date: 29 August 2010
Youtube video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdTjMpnOxaU
King of Jordan on Seeing the World TV program Israel Television Channel 1
28 August 2010.

Excerpt:

Oded Granot: You said that you sat with Israelis and nobody could come up
with an answer to your question 'how do they see Israel in ten years' time'.
Did you allude to the demographic element?

Majesty King Abdullah II: If we take the question as you put it, first of
all, the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians, I believe, do
want peace. But the same amount of people are so frustrated that they have
given up. That they don't think that it's ever going to happen. So you get
people into the mentality of living with the status quo. But what does the
status quo mean over the coming years?

There is people that say that Jordan should be Palestine. But how
does that work? The Palestinians don't want it. We sure as hell don't want
Jordan to be Palestine. The only way that you are going to be able to
achieve it is an exodus of Palestinians and the only way that's going to
happen is through force and violence. And would the international community
and the Israelis endorse that?

But even if you did that, say there was a magic wand that was waived and the
Palestinians are out of the West Bank, have you still solved your long term
problem?

The Arab Israeli population, after many years, is going to be a challenge
demographically to the Jewish State of Israel.

So, the way I look at the future of Israel is that unless we solve our
problems today when you are in a position of strength, the options that you
have in the future become less and less. And therefore more difficult.

So this concept of kicking this problem down the road. Let's solve it in a
year. Let's solve it in two years. I think the dynamics that affect the
challenge of Israel becomes far more dangerous.

Today you have 22 Arab Moslem countries total with the Moslem countries 57
nations that want to have this problem solved, because, you have to
understand, this is not just a challenge for Israel's security. We also
have our own problems in the region.