DUBAI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah warned in comments published on Wednesday that the Middle East would face "mew disasters" unless a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was reached this year. "Everyone, particularly Israel, must realise that if we do not reach a solution to the Palestinian issue this year then we will all pay the price," King Abdullah told London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, calling for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. "Without this, the region will move toward new disasters similar to what happened in Lebanon," he told the daily. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas fought a war in Lebanon last year. Lebanon is now in the grip of opposition protests led by Hezbollah to topple the U.S.-backed government. King Abdullah told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit to the region this month that only real progress toward peace could prevent more violence. Rice promised a bigger U.S. push for a Palestinian state. "The Palestinian issue is at the core of the conflict in the region and we hope that the international community realises that regional issues are tied together," the king told the newspaper. "Treating them comprehensively will ... end feelings of desperation among the region's people and block the slide into the abyss of extremism, violence and terrorism."
