Jordan's king says east Jerusalem must be capital of Palestinian state
In remarks during talks with US Vice Mike Pence in Amman, King Abdullah expresses concern over decision by Washington to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, says only solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a two-state one.
In remarks during talks with US Vice Mike Pence in Amman, the king said the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a two-state one.
Jordan lost east Jerusalem and the West Bank to Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
US endorsement of Israel's claim to Jerusalem as its capital broke with decades of US policy that the city's status must be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
King Abdullah said the US move would fuel radicalism and inflame Muslim and Christian tensions.
"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.
Pence, in turn, tried to reassure the monarch that the Trump administration remains committed to restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and views Jordan as a central player.
The vice president also said that "the United States of America remains committed, if the parties agree, to a two state solution." Such a caveat deviates from long-standing US support for a two-state solution as the only possible outcome of any peace deal.
Pence told Jordan's monarch that Trump made it clear in his announcement on Jerusalem "that we are committed to continue to respect Jordan's role as the custodian of holy sites, that we take no position on boundaries and final status."
He said Jordan would continue to play a central role in any future peace efforts.
The vice president also praised Jordan's contribution to a US-led military campaign against Islamic State extremists who in recent months were pushed back from large areas in Iraq and Syria, both neighbors of Jordan.
Abdullah expressed concerns about the regional fallout from the Jerusalem decision.
"Today we have a major challenge to overcome, especially with some of the rising frustrations," he said. He described the Pence visit as a mission "to rebuild trust and confidence" in getting to a two-state solution, in which a state of Palestine would be established in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
Another cause of concern for Jordan is the Trump administration's decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Jordan vehemently opposes such a move if taken ahead of an Israeli-Palestinian partition deal.
Palestinians view Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as a blatantly one-sided move.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not meet with Trump administration officials and called off a meeting with Pence that had been scheduled for mid-December.
In a new expression of that snub, Abbas overlapped with Pence in Jordan from Saturday evening to midday Sunday, when the Palestinian leader flew to Brussels for a meeting with EU foreign ministers Monday. There, Abbas is expected to urge EU member states to recognize a state of Palestine in the pre-1967 lines, and to step up involvement in mediation.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an Abbas adviser, reiterated Sunday that "the US is no longer acceptable as a mediator."
"Any plan from any side should be based on the basic references, which are the UN resolutions on the establishment of a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with east Jerusalem as a capital, and the Arab Peace Initiative, which addresses many issues, including the issue of refugees," he said.
"Any plan that is not based on the international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative will not be acceptable, neither by the Palestinians nor the Arabs."
Pence was also expected to meet with US troops in the region on Sunday and then depart for Israel, where he's scheduled to hold meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deliver an address to the Knesset and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
