Jordanian King calls for efforts to ensure Palestinian state

King Abdullah II meets PA chairman, calls for international efforts to enable Palestinian Arabs to establish their independent state.

By Elad Benari, ARUTZ SHEVA

King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday underlined the necessity to step up international efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that would enable the Palestinian Arabs to establish their independent state, the Xinhua news agency reports.

Speaking during a meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, the Jordanian leader stressed Jordan’s support on the just and legitimate rights of the Palestinians.

The king stressed Jordan’s commitment to its historical and religious role in safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem based on the Hashemite Custodianship, as well as preserving the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem.

Abbas, for his part, expressed appreciation of Jordan’s positions in support of the Palestinians.

Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994 but its parliament, which is made up mostly of Islamists, remains anti-Israel and its members have more than once called to annul the peace treaty. This decision, however, can only be made by the King.

While relations between Israel and Jordan were strained in recent years, King Abdullah recently met with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Amman as well as with Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

In an interview with CNN last month, King Abdullah II said he was encouraged by those meetings and once again stressed the importance of contacts between Israel and the PA.

“I came out of those meetings feeling very encouraged. We’ve seen in the last couple of weeks not only a better understanding between Israel and Jordan but voices coming out from both Israel and Palestine that we need to move forward and reset that relationship,” the King said.

“We must bring about the restoration of contacts between Israel and the Palestinians, even though the conditions are not optimal for the implementation of a two-state solution,” he added.