By DPA
Amman : Jordan's King Abdullah II has said talk of a confederation of his country and the Palestinian territories was a "conspiracy" against both sides.
In an interview published Sunday in Al-Ghad independent daily, the king asked Israel to "clarify its intentions through a series of steps towards the creation of a Palestinian state".
He also urged belligerent Palestinians to put an end to fratricidal fighting, noting that the divide between Gaza and the West Bank could have "catastrophic repercussions."
"We are fed up with the talk about this topic. Our position is clear-cut and declared. Nobody can ever change it," answered the king when asked about the prospects of a confederation with the Palestinian territories.
Abdullah, who ascended the throne in 1999, hinted to international pressure on his country to link up with the West Bank.
"We will never accept such solutions regardless of how far pressures go," the king said.
"Jordan has a political, strategic and security-related interest in the creation of a Palestinian state."
This impoverished kingdom, which sealed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has since been a major recipient of aid from the United States amounting to $500 million per year.
The West Bank, one of two Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967, had been part of Jordan since 1950. In 1988, Jordan severed its legal and administrative ties with the West Bank – paving the way for the PLO to declare a Palestinian state in diaspora.
Analysts refer to Israeli efforts – with tacit US backing – to revive the Jordan option. They speak about linking the West Bank with Jordan where 50 percent of the population hails from Palestinian land.
Addressing Israel, the king said that "if you want a genuine and durable peace, you have to move swiftly towards this principle (two-state solution). You also have to clarify to the Palestinians, the Arabs and the rest of the world what you really want."
"He who wants peace does not run away from his duties. Nor does he try to circumvent peace calls by floating the concept of confederation," he said.
Official sources in Amman say that Abdullah during a summit last Monday at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Taba told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to come up with a set timetable, defining his plans and measures towards peace by the end of 2007.