AMMAN/RAMALLAH, 4 December 2007 — King Abdallah of Jordan yesterday urged Israel to pull out from all Arab countries it occupied in 1967 war as a prerequisite for establishment of “just and durable” peace in the region. “We hereby emphasize to the Israelis that ending the occupation of the Palestinian and other Arab lands, pulling out from these territories and the application of the international legitimacy resolutions are the only way for achieving just, durable and comprehensive peace and guaranteeing a safe future for the region’s peoples,” he said.

The monarch’s remarks came as he opened a new Parliament following last month’s parliamentary elections. Abdallah also urged the Palestinians to unite and resolve their differences through dialogue, saying “you should seize the available peace opportunity for setting up your independent state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”

The Jordanian head of state referred to the Middle East peace conference, which convened in Annapolis, Maryland, last week and witnessed the launching of final status talks between Israel and the Palestinian authority. The Palestinian hard-line Hamas group, which took over the Gaza Strip by force in mid-June, sought to torpedo the Annapolis meeting, saying it was designed to extract further territorial concessions from the Palestinians.

Abdallah vowed to go ahead with performing Jordan’s “historical role in confronting the campaign that seeks to distort the image of Islam and to reject all forms of extremism, violence and takfir thought “dubbing people as atheists.”

Meanwhile, Israel released 429 Palestinian prisoners yesterday to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas after the US-sponsored conference last week on Palestinian statehood, Israeli officials said. The inmates, most of whom belong to Abbas’ secular Fatah movement and were serving sentences ranging from seven months to 15 years, were bussed from the desert prison of Kitsiyot to Israel’s borders with the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

There are nearly 11,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The Jewish state says most are there for involvement in militant groups behind a Palestinian revolt that erupted in 2000. Israel’s Prisons Service said 20 prisoners were sent to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and 409 to a crossing near the West Bank city of Ramallah, where a formal homecoming reception took place attended by Palestinian Authority officials and families.

“The Israelis need to release those with long sentences to show they are serious about the peace process,” said Abbas aide Tayeb Abdel-Rahim. “President Abbas has exerted maximum effort to keep the prisoner issue on top of the world’s agenda.”

Israel has refused to commute sentences of Palestinians jailed over lethal militant attacks but yesterday’s release is meant to strengthen Abbas against Hamas Islamists who seized Gaza in June. “Israel understands it is crucial to reinforce the political dialogue by concrete actions on the ground,” said Israel government spokesman Mark Regev.

“We are hopeful that today’s release will help to contribute to the growing momentum in the political dialogue between us and the Palestinians.” Hamas rejects peace moves with Israel.

One of those seized was Khaled Barbari. His family said he was taken by Israeli troops as he traveled to the homecoming celebration for his brother, Ahmad, who was freed yesterday.

“They simply made an exchange. They released Ahmad and arrested Khaled,” said Mahmoud Barbari, another brother. Khaled Bardari’s relative said he had no known militant affiliations.