Abdullah ties IS to Palestinian cause

King Abdullah II of Jordan warns that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is essential for combating Islamic extremists, saying the conflict serves as a rallying cry for jihadists.

Abdullah tells the European Parliament that the battle against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria was “first and foremost” a fight for Muslim nations to carry out.

Jordan has stepped up its role in the US-led coalition against IS after the group burned to death a captured Jordanian military pilot in a grisly video released last month.

But Abdullah says the root problem was the world’s failure to “defend Palestinian rights.”

“This failure sends a dangerous message,” he says, “and it has given the extremists a powerful rallying cry. They exploit the injustices and the lingering conflict, to build legitimacy and recruit foreign fighters across Europe and the world.”

– AFP