Israel’s President Isaac Herzog met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II this week at his palace in Amman, the president’s office announced in a statement on Wednesday.
“During the warm meeting, held at king Abdullah's invitation, the President and the king discussed deep strategic issues, at both bilateral and regional levels,” the statement read.
The two leaders discussed maintaining stable bilateral ties and “the need for dialogue with all actors in the region.”
The meeting took place ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to the region and at a time of increasing talk of security cooperation between Israel and Arab countries.
Herzog’s office said that the visit had been coordinated with the Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s offices, among other offices.
Jordanian officials told Channel 12 that the visit is “important” as it was held ahead of key developments in the region.
“It also comes in the wake of a series of visits that bolstered Jordanian-Israeli relations,” they said.
Earlier this week, Jordanian King held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman.
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 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 June 4, 1967 borders, 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.
Amman 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.
King Abdullah will attend a Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan with Biden in Jeddah.
Biden is expected to meet with Abbas in Bethlehem, as well as with Israeli officials in Israel.
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 Palestinian Liberation Office in Washington, and remove the organization from the terrorism list.
