Jordan’s King Abdullah to visit Ramallah, aims to defuse tension

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Jordan’s King Abdullah plans to travel to Ramallah in the West Bank for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, amid increasing tensions in the West Bank, and east Jerusalem ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The meeting reportedly set for later this month is King Abdullah’s first trip to Ramallah in five years and comes less than a year after increased friction in Jerusalem sparked an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.

The war left some 256 Palestinians dead, including 128 civilians, according to the United Nations, and 13 people were killed in Israel.

Palestinian officials blame the tensions on continued visits by Jewish Israelis to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and they warn that the visits during Ramadan will be like “pouring oil on the fire.”

Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Abbas’ adviser for religious affairs and Islamic relations, warned earlier in the week against “Israeli attempts to implement plans to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, and the consequences for the security and stability of the region and the world,” adding that “the occupation knows well that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is the most sensitive in Palestinian geography, and therefore they deliberately create crises from time to time.”

Hillel Frisch, professor of Political Science and Middle Eastern History at Bar-Ilan University, told The Media Line that “timing is critical,” and Jordan’s position as the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem makes its involvement in dealing with the rise in tension even more important.

“Its importance is in brokering an understanding or agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority which has influence in east Jerusalem,” he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with Jordan’s monarch two weeks ago to discuss the same issue.

“We decided that we must act together to quell tensions and promote understanding, mainly ahead of the month of Ramadan and the Passover holiday,” a statement from Lapid said.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-702324