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King Abdullah Meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Surprise Jordan Visit

Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 at UN headquarters. (AP)
Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 at UN headquarters. (AP)
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King Abdullah Meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Surprise Jordan Visit

Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 at UN headquarters. (AP)
Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 at UN headquarters. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise trip to Jordan on Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah, who the royal court said underlined the need for Israel to respect the status quo of the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which Jews revere as the Temple Mount, under heavy security this month. The visit angered the Palestinians and caused an outcry among Arab states.

The compound is Islam's third holiest site after Makkah and Madinah, and Judaism's most sacred site.

King Abdullah told Netanyahu, who took office last month, that Israel should respect the "historic and legal status quo in the Holy Aqsa mosque and not violate it," the royal court said.

The monarch was quoted as telling Netanyahu that an end to violence was crucial to allow long-stalled peace talks to resume between the Palestinians and Israel.

Netanyahu's office said the two leaders discussed regional issues, especially strategic, security and economic cooperation between Israel and Jordan.

Jerusalem is a particularly sensitive issue for Jordan's Hashemite royal family as it is the custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in the eastern part of the city.

The return of Netanyahu to power has deepened Jordan's concerns that ultra-right policies, which include accelerated Jewish settlement building in Palestinian territories in the West Bank, will spark a new cycle of violence.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.