Jordan’s king says East Jerusalem must be capital of Palestinian state

Jordan’s King Abdullah told US Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday he looked to Washington to rebuild “trust and confidence” in moving toward a two-state solution in Israel after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the country’s capital.

With Pence sitting across from him in the royal palace, King Abdullah said Jordan viewed the Israel-Palestinian conflict as a “potential major source of instability”.

He said he had raised his concerns for some time that such a decision on Jerusalem “does not come as a result of a comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”. He also reiterated that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

“We hope that the US will reach out and find the right way to move forward in these challenging circumstances,” the king said.

At the end of the visit, Pence in remarks to the press said he “agreed to disagree” with King Abdullah on the impact of Trump’s move.

Pence said in Egypt on Saturday and again in Jordan that the United States would support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians if they both agreed to it. 

US committed to status quo of holy sites 

Pence told the king that Washington was committed to preserving the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem.

King Abdullah’s Hashemite dynasty is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in the city, making Amman particularly sensitive to any changes of status there.

“For us, Jerusalem is key to Muslims and Christians, as it is to Jews. It is key to peace in the region and key to enabling Muslims to effectively fight some of our root causes of radicalization,” he said.

Jordanian officials fear Trump’s move has wrecked chances of a resumption of Arab-Israeli peace talks, which King Abdullah had sought to revive.

They also worry the move could trigger violence in the Palestinian territories which could spill over into Jordan, where many people are descendants of Palestinian refugees whose families left after Israel was created in 1948.

“We take no position on boundaries and final status. Those are subject to negotiation,” Pence said.

After the meeting, Pence flew to a military facility near the Syrian border to meet with US troops. He will finish his three-nation Middle East trip in Israel.