King Abdullah II will be the first Arab leader to visit the White House since Biden took office…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden will host King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on July 19, Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said.
“His Majesty’s visit will highlight the enduring and strategic partnership between the United States and Jordan, a key security partner and ally of the US,” Psaki said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It will be an opportunity to discuss the many challenges facing the Middle East and showcase Jordan’s leadership role in promoting peace and stability in the region,” she added.
King Abdullah II will be the first Arab leader to visit the White House since Biden took office. The Biden administration voiced support for his leadership during a royal rift in April.
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit
Abdullah is on a three-week visit to the United States that will include Biden’s first meeting with an Arab leader at the White House since taking office, a July 1 statement from the palace said.
Abdullah strongly opposed former President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which he saw as a national security threat that would also undermine his Hashemite family’s custodianship of holy sites in Jerusalem.
Officials say the shift in policy under Biden towards a more traditional commitment to a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict has relieved pressure on Jordan, where a majority of the population of 10 million are Palestinians.
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
The Jordan king will be the first Arab leader to meet at the White House with President Joe Biden and his team….reports Asian Lite News
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks with King Abdullah before the Jordanian monarch’s key visit to Washington.
The king will be the first Arab leader to meet at the White House with President Joe Biden and his team.
Two Jordanian army helicopters flew to Ramallah to transport Abbas and his team to the talks.
After a one-on-one meeting in the presence of Crown Prince Hussein, Jordanian and Palestinian teams joined their leaders.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, senior Fatah official Hussein Sheikh, Palestinian intelligence service chief Majed Faraj, and senior diplomatic adviser Majdi Khalidi attended the meeting.
On the Jordanian side, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, General Intelligence Director Ahmad Hosni and other officials were present, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
Jordan’s Petra news agency said the king reiterated Jordan’s support for Palestinians “to obtain their just and legitimate rights in establishing their independent, sovereign and viable state, on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
King Abdullah stressed the need to translate the cease-fire agreement in Gaza into a permanent truce in order to pave the way for Palestinian rights, Petra said.
Abbas highlighted Jordan’s critical role in defending the rights of Palestinians in international circles.
Samir Habashneh, a former Jordanian interior minister, told Arab News that the Biden administration has yet to decide on its approach to the Palestinian conflict.
“For sure, it is different from the Trump administration’s direction and for sure it is in support of the two-state solution, but it hasn’t yet identified the alternative,” he said.
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
Habashneh, a leading member of a reform committee set up by King Abdullah, said that in a recent meeting the monarch stressed the importance of support for the two-state solution.
“The king’s strong opposition to the Trump plan played a major role in its defeat, but we need to work out the mechanism for how to move forward,” he said.
Habashneh said that he hopes Jordan can influence a Palestinian reconciliation.
“If I can whisper in the ears of our Palestinian brethren, it would be to move fast in the reconciliation process in order to block Israeli efforts to avoid dealing with the Palestinian leadership.”
Hazem Kawasmi, a Jerusalem-based political activist, told Arab News that the situation is quickly deteriorating and there is a need to “find ways to put out all these fires.”
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
He said: “Things in Jerusalem, and especially in Silwan, with tens of homes slated for destruction, are worrying as is the internal Palestinian protests in light of the death of Nizar Banat and the attacks on peaceful Palestinian protesters by the Palestinian security.”
The family of Banat, a prominent critic of the Palestinian Authority, who died in detention on June 24, said that security forces broke into his house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and hit him repeatedly with a metal rod before arresting him.
Oraib Rantawi, director of Al-Quds Center for Political Affairs, told Arab News that the Biden administration is stepping up its coordination with Jordan and Egypt, while “Trump and his people gave preference to the Gulf countries, and disregarded Jordan and Egypt.”
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit
Rantawi said: “I expect that the internal situation is worrying Jordan, and Abbas will most certainly receive friendly advice from King Abdullah on the need to address internal issues that have weakened Abbas and his administration.”
Lamis Andoni, a longtime observer of Jordanian-Palestinian relations, told Arab News: “What is happening in Jerusalem, and its effects on the region and the future, will be an important topic discussed between them.”
Trump’s policies were a major problem for both Jordan and Palestine, she added.
“The policies of the previous US administration gave legitimacy to Israel to increase its expansion into Palestinian lands,” Andoni said.
She said that the Jordan visit is intended to strengthen Abbas’ standing amid growing protests and criticism directed at the Palestinian leader, she said.
Jaishankar with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi and Palestinian counterpart Dr Riyad al-Maliki (Source @DrSJaishankar))
This comes after India had abstained on a resolution at UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last month to set up a Commission of Inquiry on human rights violation in occupied Palestinian territory…reports Asian Lite News
After concluding his three-day visit to Kenya, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Jordanian and Palestinian counterparts at the Doha airport on Tuesday.
Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said he visited Jordan’s Ayman Safadi and Palestine’s Dr Riyad al-Maliki in Doha, saying that it is “never a dull day on travel”.
“Never a dull day on travel. Meeting my Jordanian and Palestinian counterparts @AymanHsafadi & Dr Riyad al-Maliki at Doha airport,” he tweeted.
This comes after India had abstained on a resolution at UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last month to set up a Commission of Inquiry on human rights violation in occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem and in Israel, following 11 days of deadly fighting between Israel and Palestine.
“India abstains on resolution at UNHRC to set up Commission of Inquiry (on human rights violation in occupied Palestinian Territory incl East Jerusalem & in Israel). With 24 members voting in favour & 9 against, resolution is adopted,” tweeted Indian envoy to United Nations (Geneva), Indra Mani Pandey tweeted.
India’s decision to abstain at the UNHRC during the resolution to probe the Gaza conflict is not new and the country has abstained on previous occasions too, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier this month.
Responding to a media query, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian National Authority had written letters to foreign ministers of countries who abstained at the UNHRC resolution.
“Palestine has written to all the countries who abstained. We have abstained on previous occasions too, it’s not new and explains our position,” he said.
The fighting between Israel and Hamas began on May 10, after Gaza militants fired barrages of rockets at Israel in protest to the Israeli measures in East Jerusalem. A tit-for-tat trade of fire broke out, where Israeli fighter jets carried out hundreds of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Health Ministery claimed that at least 277 Palestinian residents died in the latest conflict escalation with Israel. While on the other hand, around 12 Israeli have lost their lives.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar recently concluded a three-day visit in Kenya, where he held discussions on bilateral cooperation with his Kenyan counterpart Raychelle Omamo and President Uhuru Kenyatta. (ANI)
Biden hailed Jordan and underscored the importance of King Abdullah II’s leadership to the United States and the region…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II to voice US support for his leadership and affirmed the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Biden expressed “strong US support for Jordan and underscore the importance of King Abdullah II’s leadership to the United States and the region,” the White House said in a statement on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The two leaders also discussed bilateral ties, Jordan’s important role in the region, and strengthening cooperation on political, economic, and security issues.
“The President also affirmed that the United States supports a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the statement added.
AMMAN, May 25, 2019 (Xinhua) — Jordan’s King Abdullah II (C) reviews the Royal Guard of Honor during the ceremony of the 73rd anniversary of the Independence of Jordan in Amman, Jordan, May 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Mohammad Abu Ghosh/IANS)
The phone call came as Jordan returns to stability from a royal rift over the weekend. King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that Prince Hamza, who was accused of being part of a plot to destabilize Jordan by authorities, was in the king’s care.
In a letter to the nation published by the Royal Hashemite Court, the king said the “sedition has been nipped in the bud” and Jordan is safe and stable.
The Biden administration on the same day announced plans to restore US assistance for the Palestinian people.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement introduced a US $235 million package of economic, development, and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, a large portion of which will go to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Former US President Donald Trump cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians, and during his administration, diplomatic contacts with Palestinians came to a virtual halt.
After Trump declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel in December 2017, the Palestinian Authority broke off all official relations with the White House and the State Department, though security cooperation continued.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council last month that Washington will “re-open diplomatic channels of communication” with Palestinians that has been cut off under the previous administration.
Jordan on Sunday said it foiled a “destabilising plot” involving Hamzah, King Abdullah II’s half-brother, over the weekend, which has led to the arrest of several high-profile figures…reports Asian Lite News
Jordan’s former Crown Prince Hamzah said in a voice recording that he won’t obey orders by the army not to leave the house or communicate with anyone.
Jordan on Sunday said it foiled a “destabilising plot” involving Hamzah, King Abdullah II’s half-brother, over the weekend, which has led to the arrest of several high-profile figures, dpa news agency reported.
The army said Hamzah was asked to refrain from activities that could be damaging to the Kingdom’s stability.
Hamzah said in videos that he was told not to leave the house.
Hamzah’s voice recording seems to have been sent to one of his acquaintances and has been shared by Jordanians on social media since Sunday night.
The former Crown prince said he will not make any immediate moves because he does not want to “escalate” the situation, but he also does not plan to follow instructions limiting his freedoms.
“But I will not abide by what they say, you cannot go out, you cannot tweet, you cannot communicate with people and you are only allowed to see family,”he said in the recording.
Investigations led to the arrest of Bassem Ibrahim Awadallah, a former chief of the royal court, and Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, authorities said.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said investigations showed there were movements by Hamzah, Awadallah and Bin Zaid targeting the Kingdom’s stability and security, and that they were in contact with “foreign parties.”
Hamzah, 41, was Jordan’s Crown Prince between 1999 and 2004, when Abdullah removed him and appointed his own son.
At the time, he said he will remain a devout support to Abdullah in official letter published by state media.
Support from Arab neighbours poured in to King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia expressed its full support to “any decisions or measures” taken by King Abdullah and Crown Prince al-Hussein to maintain the security and stability of the kingdom.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council have issued similar statements.
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Yousef Ahmed al-Hunaiti, denied reports that the former Crown Prince and King Abdullah’s half-brother was under house arrest or detained…reports Asian Lite News
Jordan’s Prince Hamzah said that he was told by the head of the armed forces not to leave his house or communicate with people, in videos released to international broadcasters hours after the military denied he was under house arrest.
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Yousef Ahmed al-Hunaiti, denied reports that the former Crown Prince and King Abdullah’s half-brother was under house arrest or detained, dpa news agency reported.
However, Hamzah released two videos shortly after contradicting the army’s statement.
“I had a visit from the chief of general staff of the Jordanian armed forces this morning, in which he informed me that I was not allowed to go out, to communicate with people or to meet with them because in the meetings that I had been present in, or on social media relating to visits that I had made, there has been criticism of the government or the king,” Hamzah said in a video published by the BBC, where he was speaking in English.
Hamzah said he was not accused of making the criticisms himself.
He said his security has been removed and the internet and phone lines have been cut.
“This is my last form of communication, satellite internet,” he said, adding that the company told him it was instructed to cut it as well.
“I am not the person responsible for the breakdown in governance, for the corruption and for the incompetence that has been prevalent in our governing structure for the last 15 to 20 years,” the Prince added.
Another video, where he spoke in Arabic, was broadcast by Al Jazeera.
While there has been previous rumours about division within Jordan’s royal family, such a public split is rare.
HRH Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein
Hamzah, 41, was Jordan’s Crown Prince between 1999 and 2004, when Abdullah removed him and appointed his own son.
At the time, he said he will remain a devout support to Abdullah in official letter published by state media.
A report by The Washington Post said Hamzah was placed under house arrest amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged coup plot.
Al-Hunaiti denied this, but said that Hamzah was asked to refrain from activities that could be damaging to the kingdom’s stability.
Following “comprehensive investigations by security services”, the Prince was “asked to stop activities and movements that are employed to target the security and stability of Jordan”, al-Hunaiti said in a statement.
“Investigations are ongoing and results will be revealed with full transparency,” he added.
These investigations have led to the arrest of several high-profile figures, al-Hunaiti cnfirmed.
Unconfirmed reports said the head of Hamzah’s office, Yasser Majali, was also arrested, though he was not identified in official statements.
Majali’s niece, Basma, wrote on Twitter that their family house was raided and Majali was taken to an unknown destination.
Al-Hunaiti’s statement only confirmed the identities of two high-profile figures previously revealed by Petra news agency.
One of them is Bassem Ibrahim Awadallah, who was the chief of the Royal Hashemite Court for one year in 2007.
He is also a former Finance Minister.
The other is Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family.
Support from Arab neighbours poured in to King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia expressed its full support to “any decisions or measures” taken by King Abdullah and Crown Prince al-Hussein to maintain the security and stability of the kingdom.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council have issued similar statements.
