Netanyahu meets King Abdullah II of Jordan in surprise trip

Amman, The Gulf Observer: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise trip to Jordan on Tuesday to meet with King Abdullah II for the first time in over four years, seeking to shore up ties that have strained since he took office at the helm of Israel’s most right-wing government in history.

The rare meeting between the leaders, who have long had a rocky relationship, comes as tensions grow over Israel’s new ultranationalist government, which took office late last year. The talks centered around the status of a contested holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem sacred to both Jews and Muslims, an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan’s official statement indicated.

Jordan’s royal court said the king urged Israel to respect the status quo at the sacred compound, which Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary and Jews call the Temple Mount. The compound — the third-holiest site in Islam — sits on a sprawling plateau also home to the iconic golden Dome of the Rock.

Under an arrangement that has prevailed for decades under Jordan’s custodianship, Jews and non-Muslims are permitted visits during certain hours but may not pray there. But Jewish religious nationalists, including members of Israel’s new governing coalition, have increasingly visited the site and demanded equal prayer rights for Jews there, infuriating the Palestinians and Muslims around the world.

In Tuesday’s meeting, King Abdullah II also pushed Israel to “stop its acts of violence” that are undermining hopes for an eventual peaceful settlement to the decades long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Jordanian government added, reaffirming its support for a two-state solution. Israel’s new coalition has vowed to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and even annex the territory, making a future independent Palestinian state unviable.

Netanyahu’s office said he discussed “regional issues” and security and economic cooperation with Jordan, a key regional ally. Jordan’s 1994 treaty normalizing ties with Israel produced a chilly-at-best peace between the former enemies.

The Jordanian government has already summoned the Israeli ambassador to Amman twice in the last month since Israel’s new government took office — both times after an incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Netanyahu has repeatedly offered assurances that there has been no change in the status quo at the site.