King Abdullah meets with President Abbas in West Bank

Jordan

Published: 2017-08-07 13:38

Last Updated: 2024-04-18 22:13


This is King Abdullah's first visit to the West Bank in five years.
This is King Abdullah's first visit to the West Bank in five years.

Jordan’s King Abdullah arrived Monday in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, for an official visit with Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas and an honor guard met the King at the helipad in the Muqata, the presidential headquarters, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

They are not expected to hold a press conference.

Mohammed Shtayyeh, a senior executive of Abbas’s Fatah party, told AFP the two leaders plan to discuss “efforts to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process", which have been stalled since 2014.

According to another Palestinian official, the visit is expected to last a few hours.

This would mark the first time in five years that Jordan’s king has visited Palestine, with Abdullah’s last visit taking place in December 2012.

This visit comes following growing tensions over metal detectors and other security measures at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound and strained diplomatic ties between Israel and Jordan in the wake of the Israeli embassy shooting that left two Jordanians dead.

Over the past few weeks, Jerusalem has been a hot topic for Jordanians, with marches and protests organized across the Kingdom in support of Palestinians, who had protested Israel’s application of dehumanizing security measures at the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque following the death of two police officers in a gunfight with three Palestinian assailants.

Earlier this week, Abdullah announced that he would donate 1 million Jordanian dinars to the Waqf, which is funded by Amman.

The king also said, Wednesday, that Jordan was continuing to campaign for the prosecution of the Israeli embassy guard, who was granted diplomatic immunity and sent back to Israel soon after the killing.