Jordan’s king tells Pence U.S. must rebuild trust after Trump’s Jerusalem decision

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Jordan's King Abdullah, his wife Queen Rania (R), meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and wife Karen Pence, at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan January 21, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Jordan’s King Abdullah, his wife Queen Rania (R), meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and wife Karen Pence, at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan January 21, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Jordan’s King Abdullah told U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday he looked to Washington to rebuild “trust and confidence” in moving towards 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 U.S. will reach out and find the right way to move forward in these challenging circumstances,” he said.

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.

Trump’s endorsement in December of Israel’s claim to Jerusalem as its capital drew universal condemnation from Arab leaders and criticism around the world. It also broke with decades of U.S. policy that the city’s status must be decided in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Jordan lost East Jerusalem and the West Bank to Israel during the Arab-Israeli war in 1967.

Jordan's King Abdullah and wife Queen Rania are seen during their meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen Pence (not pictured) at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, Jan. 21, 2018.
Jordan’s King Abdullah and wife Queen Rania are seen during their meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen Pence (not pictured) at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, Jan. 21, 2018.

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 U.S. troops. He will finish his three-nation Middle East trip in Israel.

REUTERS

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3 responses to “Jordan’s king tells Pence U.S. must rebuild trust after Trump’s Jerusalem decision”

  1. Hind Abyad Avatar
    Hind Abyad

    Pence is a messianic Evangelist, what can he know of the Middle East, Revisionist history? US vice-President waiting for the “rapture” is a dangerous man.

    1. Rudy1947 Avatar

      I thought you were Christian.

      1. Calling her a “Satanist” would be an undeserved insult to Anton LaVey’s jolly little cult.
        Her “Christianity” begins and ends with “the Jooz killed Christ”.

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