OVER three days last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reiterated the urgency of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
First, in his talk at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he rejected the notion that a clash of civilisations is the cause for the violence in the Middle East, saying: "What the world is burdened with is the consequence of its inability to construct a global order that can maintain the peace, restrain the strong and protect the weak."
He added: "There is a tendency for differences to occasionally degenerate into conflict, tempting the strong to resort to coercive measures, including the use of force, to impose their will on the weak when convenient or necessary. While the weak, to counter that, resort to force when so inclined or when necessary, with weapons and tactics and that in extreme cases nations invade and attack each other, seize territory and resources, and subjugate or evict the local population."
Three days later, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Abdullah repeated his contention that "the root cause of the problem in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in politics and the projection of power, not in religion or culture".
He added: "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict too is the single most important source of Muslim anger towards Israel and the West and must be resolved."
There is a need for leaders of the parties to the conflict to come face to face to hammer out lasting solutions. Of course, it is easier said than done. But if, as Abdullah said, warring parties do not face up to the task then men, women and children would continue to be victims, and sympathy for the cause of militants will spread and involve nations in violence.
Unless a neutral party offers to mediate (I feel neither the US nor EU is neutral), the warring factions will forever avoid face-to-face dialogue.
May I propose that, as chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Abdullah offers Kuala Lumpur as a venue for Israel-Palestine peace talks.
Malaysia could invite the leaders of Palestine - President Mahmoud Abbas representing Fatah, Prime Minister Ismail Haniya as leader of Hamas - and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel (even though we have no diplomatic relations with the country) for a round-table meeting with the OIC chairman as moderator.
It would help if leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia as well as US President George W. Bush or his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are invited, as all of them have a vested interest.
Unless and until bold steps are taken, the unrest will continue to fester with increasing violence, leading to terrorism gaining the upper hand, finally engulfing the region and probably the world.
