No ME security without Palestinian statehood: Jordan's King 

AMMAN, Nov 2: Jordan's King Abdullah II on Monday said there would be no security in the Middle East region until the Palestinians' right to a homeland is fulfilled.

"We reiterate, time and again, that there can be no security or stability in our region without upholding the Palestinian people's right to their homeland," he said at the opening of Jordan's parliament.

Jordan neighbours Israel and the occupied West Bank. It has long advocated for a two-state solution, and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

"Despite international calls for an end to Israel's violations, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues, as do the relentless attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, whilst Israel's expansionist ambitions remain the greatest threat to the region's future and hopes," the king said.

The speech came days after Israel held a legislative election which saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party win the most votes, but still fall short of a majority.

It also follows threats of a renewed conflict in the wider region, with Iran vowing to hit back should the United States and Israel renew strikes against the Islamic republic.

The Israeli army has pulled back following an operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, launched in the wake of an attack that killed two soldiers in late October, a military official said Monday.

The operation had emptied a neighbourhood in the West Bank's largest city where the two gunmen had lived. AFP journalists witnessed residents returning to their homes on Monday after the military left.�" AFP