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King Abdullah II Reassures Abbas on Palestinian Cause

Jordanian King Abdullah II receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in Amman (AFP)
Jordanian King Abdullah II receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in Amman (AFP)
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King Abdullah II Reassures Abbas on Palestinian Cause

Jordanian King Abdullah II receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in Amman (AFP)
Jordanian King Abdullah II receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in Amman (AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed on Sunday with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman the Palestinian situation.

The meeting came as US President Joe Biden prepares to visit the region on July 13 and while Israel prepares for its upcoming elections.

Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting carried a Jordanian affirmation that any political developments in the region would not be at the expense of the Palestinians.

The sources expressed apprehension about the Arab-Israeli rapprochement that ended with an air alliance and ideas about a Middle Eastern NATO.

During his meeting with Abbas, the Jordanian King reaffirmed Jordan’s unwavering position towards the Palestinian cause and its support for the Palestinians in fulfilling their just and legitimate rights.

Abdullah assured that Jordan will always stands with the Palestinian people, and that nothing is more important to the Kingdom than the Palestinian cause.

The two officials had discussed at Al Husseiniya Palace in the Jordanian capital the latest political developments, bilateral relations, and issues of mutual concern, a Palestinian statement said.

“Wherever Jordan is present, the Palestinian cause will always be present,” Abbas said, as he reviewed the difficult situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The two sides agreed that the only way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is through the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Abdullah II and Abbas also said that the next step required is to cease unilateral measures to open the way to resuming negotiations in the future.

Jordan is in constant communication with Washington, and is working to have the Palestinian cause at the top of Biden’s agenda during his visit to the region next month, Abdullah II said.

The king will attend a Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan with the US President in Jeddah.

He said Jordan will fully support the rights of the Palestinian people and their cause during the Summit.

Abdullah II reiterated that no progress can be made on regional economic cooperation without making progress in efforts to resolve the Palestinian cause.

Palestinian sources said that during his meeting with the US President next month, Abbas plans to ask for US pressure on Israel to make it stop unilateral actions, push the peace process forward, reopen the US consulate in Jerusalem, reopen the PLO office in Washington, and remove the organization from the terrorism list.

He will also inform Biden that the current situation cannot be tolerated in the absence of a political horizon and international protection for the Palestinian people, warning that he will take actions if Washington remains silent.

Jordan’s King earlier said he would support the creation of a Middle East alliance similar to NATO.

He told CNBC that there is a growing sense in the region that nations facing similar threats need to work together.

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Cash Crunch Leaves Syrians Queueing for Hours to Collect Salaries

Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
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Cash Crunch Leaves Syrians Queueing for Hours to Collect Salaries

Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Seated on the pavement outside a bank in central Damascus, Abu Fares's face is worn with exhaustion as he waits to collect a small portion of his pension.
"I've been here for four hours and I haven't so much as touched my pension," said the 77-year-old, who did not wish to give his full name.

"The cash dispensers are under-stocked and the queues are long," he continued.

Since the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad last December, Syria has been struggling to emerge from the wake of nearly 14 years of civil war, and its banking sector is no exception.

Decades of punishing sanctions imposed on the Assad dynasty -- which the new authorities are seeking to have lifted -- have left about 90 percent of Syrians under the poverty line, according to the United Nations.

The liquidity crisis has forced authorities to drastically limit cash withdrawals, leaving much of the population struggling to make ends meet.

Prior to his ousting, Assad's key ally Russia held a monopoly on printing banknotes. The new authorities have only announced once that they have received a shipment of banknotes from Moscow since Assad's overthrow.
In a country with about 1.25 million public sector employees, civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs to make withdrawals, capped at about 200,000 Syrian pounds, the equivalent on the black market of $20 per day.

In some cases, they have to take a day off just to wait for the cash.

"There are sick people, elderly... we can't continue like this," said Abu Fares.

'Meagre sums'
"There is a clear lack of cash, and for that reason we deactivate the ATMs at the end of the workday," an employee at a private bank told AFP, preferring not to give her name.

A haphazard queue of about 300 people stretches outside the Commercial Bank of Syria. Some are sitting on the ground.

Afraa Jumaa, a civil servant, said she spends most of the money she withdraws on the travel fare to get to and from the bank.

"The conditions are difficult and we need to withdraw our salaries as quickly as possible," said the 43-year-old.
"It's not acceptable that we have to spend days to withdraw meagre sums."

The local currency has plunged in value since the civil war erupted in 2011, prior to which the dollar was valued at 50 pounds.

Economist Georges Khouzam explained that foreign exchange vendors -- whose work was outlawed under Assad -- "deliberately reduced cash flows in Syrian pounds to provoke rapid fluctuations in the market and turn a profit".

Muntaha Abbas, a 37-year-old civil servant, had to return three times to withdraw her entire salary of 500,000 pounds.

"There are a lot of ATMs in Damascus, but very few of them work," she said.

After a five-hour wait, she was finally able to withdraw 200,000 pounds.

"Queues and more queues... our lives have become a series of queues," she lamented.