Safadi, Ashkenazi Discuss Resuming Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi, Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry, and French FM Jean-Yves Le Drian, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. (AP)
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi, Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry, and French FM Jean-Yves Le Drian, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. (AP)
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Safadi, Ashkenazi Discuss Resuming Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi, Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry, and French FM Jean-Yves Le Drian, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. (AP)
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi, Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry, and French FM Jean-Yves Le Drian, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. (AP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi met in Jordan for the second time in two weeks after a series of telephone calls between them last month, according to political sources in Tel Aviv.

The sources described the talks as “positive,” adding that they were followed by meetings between Israeli and Jordanian teams to discuss the practical steps on the various issues addressed by the two ministers.

A Palestinian source in Ramallah said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is aware of these meetings, which are in line with recent efforts by the quartet of Egypt, Jordan, Germany and France to move forward with Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on a political settlement based on the two-state solution.

These efforts have intensified in recent weeks, days before Joe Biden is sworn in as American president on January 20.

The source stressed that the efforts culminated on Monday with the quartet meeting of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, France, and Germany, a forum known as the Munich Group, in Cairo.

The meeting between Ashkenazi and Safadi is part of these efforts, according to the source, adding that Amman condemned the Israeli government's practices “to impose a de-facto solution that sabotages the two-state solution, such as going ahead with settlement building.”

Since assuming his position as foreign minister, Ashkenazi has been working to improve the strained relations with Jordan, said a close associate to him in Tel Aviv. Ashkenazi is aware that there is a common supreme strategic interest for both Jordan and Israel.

Israel Hayom reported that the latest meeting between Ashkenazi and Safadi discussed regional strategic issues, strengthening economic cooperation and reducing tensions in bilateral ties.

It suggested that the talks between the two ministers focused on civil and economic ties and avoided contentious issues, noting that the meeting also included several ministers.

Ashkenazi had been invited to participate in the meeting in Cairo, but he apologized due to the two-week lockdown imposed by the government, which suggests that his meeting with Safadi took place at the end of December.

The newspaper said that despite the efforts of the Israeli FM, Safadi is pursuing a decisive stance with Israel, demanding that it put an end to provocations at al-Aqsa Mosque and fulfill its legal obligations as an occupying power, according to a statement issued by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.



Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
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Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian group Hamas.

The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government last month following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir had quit the cabinet in January in protest at the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Ben-Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation.”

Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people.”

“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defense of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.

The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Ben-Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days,” during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Ben-Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.

The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence.