Israeli PM visits Jordanian king in Amman
Netanyahu made an unannounced visit to Jordan to discuss Middle East peace process with King Abdullah II
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an unannounced visit to neighboring Jordan on Thursday for talks with King Abdullah II on the Middle East peace process, palace officials said.
The rare meeting in Amman comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing to get the Palestinians and Israelis to agree on a framework to guide peace talks forward.
His proposals include a security plan for the border between a future Palestinian state and Jordan, involving high-tech equipment to enable Israel to reduce or end its troop presence on the ground, Israeli media say.
“King Abdullah and Netanyahu discussed peace process developments in light of the current US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinians peace negotiations,” a palace statement sad. An official told AFP the talks took place on Thursday.
The palace statement said the meeting “seeks to make sure a progress in the peace talks would meet Palestinian aspirations and at the same time protect Jordanian interests, particularly final status issues at this critical stage.”
Kerry left the region last week following four days of intense meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, during which he failed to secure an agreement on a framework.
The U.S. official coaxed Israelis and Palestinians back into direct negotiations last summer and has since shuttled tirelessly between the two leaderships in a bid to keep the talks alive.
-
Abbas says he won’t make concessions on Jerusalem
Kerry is trying to forge an agreement between Abbas and Netanyahu Middle East -
Netanyahu moves to calm clamour over U.S. spying allegations
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz described the alleged espionage as “unacceptable” World News -
Israeli PM vows to expand settlements
Netanyahu’s comments come amid warnings that peace negotiations with the Palestinians could break down Middle East -
Israel considers buying its own ‘Air Force One’
A week after Netanyahu reportedly chose to miss Mandela’s memorial service because of travel costs Middle East -
Recep Tayyip Netanyahu
Both Netanyahu and Turkey’s head of government, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have been in power for too long Middle East -
Mandela trip ‘too costly’ for Netanyahu
Despite being spotlighted for his spending sprees, the Israeli PM has decided not to attend a memorial service for Mandela World News