King warns that Jordan won't tolerate destabilization on eve of crucial Israeli visit

(AP) King Abdullah II warned on Wednesday that his country can never again serve as a "substitute homeland" for Palestinians, signaling that Jordan fears a destabilizing flood of refugees if Israel unilaterally redraws its borders.

The king, a key U.S. ally, spoke before going to Saudi Arabia for consultations ahead of his meeting Thursday with Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, on reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Abdullah strongly opposes Olmert's plan to draw a West Bank border if negotiations with the Palestinians fail, worrying that might bring a further influx of refugees and possibly a repeat of the 1970 civil war in which Jordan's army fought the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The king told Jordanian security cadets that if there "is anyone who believes that it is possible to settle the Palestinian issue at the expense of Jordan, he should know that Jordan will never be a substitute homeland for anybody."

"The Palestinians' homeland and their state should be on Palestinian soil, and nowhere else," he said.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, Abdullah told the Israeli public that he was "definitely concerned" about Olmert's plan.

"A unilateral step by Israel would raise question marks and a sense of insecurity not only among the Palestinians, but among all the partners of peace in the region," he said.

Jordan, which already hosts some 1.85 million Palestinians whose families were displaced by the 1948 and 1967 Mideast wars, fears another flood of refugees could turn the country into a majority Palestinian population.

Abdullah's comments also aimed to lay down the line for Palestinians. In September 1970, the PLO tried to overthrow Jordan's Hashemite monarchy by setting up a Palestinian government, leading to the bloody "Black September" war as Jordan evicted the PLO from its territory.

The king also praised a proposal by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold a referendum among Palestinians on recognizing Israel, a move that could undermine the militant Hamas movement, which opposes the Jewish state's existence.

Abdullah told the Yediot Ahranot that the referendum was "a good opportunity to reach a consensus" among Palestinians, saying "ultimately we need Palestinian unity in order to promote peace initiatives."

The king may have been expressing the view of other moderate Arab countries, which have been clearly rattled by Hamas' winning control of the Palestinian government in January elections and are eager for some breakthrough in the peace stalemate with Israel.

Abdullah's trip to Saudi Arabia appeared aimed at coordinating the moderate Arab front amid a diplomatic push from all sides. He arrived Wednesday evening in Riyadh, where he was met by the like-named Saudi monarch, King Abdullah. Olmert held talks last week with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Olmert was scheduled to arrive in Jordan on Thursday on his second trip to an Arab country since taking office in May. Both Olmert and Jordan's Abdullah traveled to Washington _ a key broker in Mideast peacemaking _ in recent days.

The Jordanian king also implicitly lashed out at Iran, which he argues is trying to spread its radical version of political Islam across the Middle East.

"It is clear that there are parties and states who seek to benefit from this state of affairs. Some seek to settle their problems at the expense of neighboring countries," he said.

"Others want to ignite this situation and spread chaos and destruction in more than one place, to enhance their influence and control over the whole region," he added.

Abdullah is an outspoken Muslim critic of Iran's radical political Islam and its increasing influence in neighboring Iraq. In late 2004, the king warned of a non-Arab, Iranian Shiite "crescent" spreading from Iran across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Jordan, whose leaders advocate moderate Islam as the true religion and the only way to ensure world peace and stability, feels squeezed by militant Islam, whether Sunni or Shiite.