Jordan Urges End to Syria Violence, Blames Israel for Peace Impasse

Jordan on Wednesday urged an end to "killing" in Syria, and called for reforms in its northern neighbor, where the United Nations says more than 5,000 people have died in a crackdown on dissent.

"Killing in Syria must stop and the promised reforms must be implemented without delay," Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said in a lecture at the Royal Jordanian National Defense College.

"Doing this will prevent outside intervention, preserve Syria's unity and stop the bloodshed."

Judeh said Amman "supports all efforts to restore stability in Syria," according to the state-run Petra news agency.

World powers asked Damascus on Wednesday to give Arab League observers full access as they headed to more key protests hubs.

Jordan has said it would dispatch foreign ministry officials, lawyers, retired servicemen and journalists to Syria as part of the league's mission.

The U.N. estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began in mid-March.

Meanwhile, Judeh also said that Israel "bears the responsibility for the dangerous deadlock in the peace process" in the Middle East.

"The Palestinians and other Arabs have accepted international peace efforts. But the current Israeli government keeps ignoring and rejecting such initiatives," he said.

The Palestinians and Israel have not sat down for face-to-face talks for more than a year after direct negotiations collapsed following a dispute over settlements.