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Jordan King Reiterates Need To Preserve Status Quo in Jerusalem

Jordanian King Abdullah II held talks on Thursday with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at Al Husseiniya Palace (Petra)
Jordanian King Abdullah II held talks on Thursday with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at Al Husseiniya Palace (Petra)
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Jordan King Reiterates Need To Preserve Status Quo in Jerusalem

Jordanian King Abdullah II held talks on Thursday with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at Al Husseiniya Palace (Petra)
Jordanian King Abdullah II held talks on Thursday with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at Al Husseiniya Palace (Petra)

Jordanian King Abdullah II on Thursday told Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid that Israel's "unilateral steps" in the holy city from accelerated Jewish settlement building to its attempts to change the legal status quo of the city undermined a two-state solution.

King Abdullah reaffirmed the need to step up efforts to achieve just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and a viable Palestinian state, on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“The King reiterated the need to preserve the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem, maintain calm, and stop unilateral action that undermines the two-state solution,” a royal palace statement said.

King Abdullah’s position came during a meeting with Lapid at Al Husseiniya Palace in Amman, where the two sides tackled measures to reactivate the peace process.

The King stressed that achieving a just peace based on the two-state solution is the key to bolstering regional cooperation.

Earlier on Thursday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also sat down with the visiting Israeli Minister.

Talks between the two sides focused on efforts to return to serious and effective negotiations to achieve peace based on the two-state solution.

Safadi said the two-state solution is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace. Several issues of bilateral concern were also discussed during the talks.

Last Wednesday, Safadi had warned that prospects for achieving Middle East peace are "absent," and that Israeli measures undermining the two-state solution are continuing.

“Israeli settlements are a violation of international law, and practices to undermine peace should stop, as well as confiscating lands and displacing Palestinians from their homes, in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and in Silwan area,” the Minister said.

Addressing the 157th regular session of the Arab League at the Ministerial level in Cairo, Safadi said Jerusalem is the key to peace, and Arab countries should work together, on a permanent and systematic basis, to protect its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, and preserve its historic and legal status quo and its sanctities.

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Lebanese Govt Approaches Hezbollah Arms File Without Decisions

In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, center foreground, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, right, head a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, center foreground, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, right, head a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Lebanese Govt Approaches Hezbollah Arms File Without Decisions

In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, center foreground, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, right, head a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo, released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, center foreground, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, right, head a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Lebanon’s government addressed the contentious issue of Hezbollah’s weapons
and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 with no concrete decisions made during the recent cabinet discussions.
Government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Lebanese Forces bloc demanded that timeline for the disarmament of Hezbollah be set, but there was no response to their demand. Other ministers argued that the matter of exclusive state control over weapons is already addressed in the government's ministerial statement.

Moreover, and in a gesture underscoring its commitment to international cooperation, the government approved the extension of the mandate for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), highlighting Lebanon’s “keenness on partnership with the international community to maintain stability.”
It also reported 2,740 Israeli violations since the ceasefire agreement was put in place.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, government sources said that President Joseph Aoun has vowed to discuss the matter of setting a timeline to disarm Hezbollah with the relevant parties, and will report the outcome of his consultations back to the cabinet.

Following the cabinet session, Information Minister Paul Morcos reaffirmed the government's commitment to asserting state authority over all Lebanese territory. He underscored the need to bolster the Lebanese Army amid growing security challenges—particularly in the south, where the army continues to carry out its duties despite repeated Israeli aggressions.

The Minister stated that Army Commander General Rodolph Haikal delivered a security briefing during the meeting, outlining ongoing operations and the army's position. Haikal stressed Lebanon’s full commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, in contrast to Israel’s repeated violations, which, he said, hinder the army’s deployment and the extension of state authority in the region.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for the Lebanese Army’s deployment south of the Litani River and the removal of all unauthorized armed groups.

Despite limited resources, Morcos noted, the army “continues to fulfill its duties under difficult conditions”.
Industry Minister, Joe Issa el-Khoury, said after the cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace that ministers of the Lebanese Forces bloc raised the issue of setting a six-month timeline for the handover of all illegal weapons—both Lebanese and non-Lebanese. They proposed beginning the process with the Palestinian refugee camps.
Morco also announced that the Cabinet approved the extension of the UNIFIL mandate in southern Lebanon, stressing the Lebanese state’s commitment to its partnership with the international community in preserving stability.

For his part, President Aoun, at the onset of the session, described his meeting with Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Tamim Al-Thani, in Doha as “fruitful and excellent,” revealing that a Qatari delegation may visit Lebanon next week to discuss the electricity file.
Aoun also thanked the Intelligence Directorate and General Security for arresting members of a cell involved in rocket launches from southern Lebanon. He expressed hope that the cell recently dismantled in Jordan—whose members admitted to receiving training in Lebanon—will be fully unraveled.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, for his part, spoke about his recent visit to Syria. He said four major issues were discussed: securing and eventually demarcating the Lebanese-Syrian border, the case of Lebanese detainees who disappeared in Syria, Lebanese nationals wanted by authorities who are currently in Syria, and the issue of Syrian prisoners held in Lebanon.
Salam underscored that some of the most pressing matters discussed was the return of Syrian refugees back to their homeland, and the need to lift sanctions on Syria in order to facilitate this process.
The visit also included an official request for information related to the Beirut port explosion.