Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to Amman Tuesday, when he met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II to discuss the Mideast Peace Process. Netanyahu was trying to get the King to persuade the Palestinians to resume peace talks.
AFP/HO/Yussef Allan
This visit came just three months after the King lamented to the Wall Street Journal over the Israeli leader’s actions which he felt brought relations between Israel and Jordan to new lows.
The meeting went on for more than two hours, and it focused on making “progress to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on a two-state solution, in a regional context,” said a statement from the Jordan News Agency, known as Petra.
Netanyahu’s office said that the meeting highlighted on “the need to ensure direct, serious and effective negotiations” toward “two states for two peoples.” The office also said that the talks addressed the need “to advance peace, security and prosperity in the region,” as well as the wish for “direct, serious and effective negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.”
The palace statement said King Abdullah asked Netanyahu to “make use of the opportunity available now to achieve peace, which constitutes a strategic interest for all sides involved.”
Once the meeting was done, the Israeli PM returned to his country and praised the Jordanian King. “We talked about promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians and in the whole region,” Netanyahu said. “I welcome Jordan’s efforts for progress toward these goals.”
Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab nations with peace treaties with Israel.
On Monday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met with King Abdullah. Afterward, Abbas told reporters that the Palestinians are not avoiding the peace talks.
“We have negotiated with Israeli governments before, more than once. Why would we avoid such talks? We are not.”
Sources: AP, CNN, AFP
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