Jordan’s King: East Jerusalem Must Be Capital of Palestine
Jordan King Abdullah II stated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be only solved by two-state decision, the Reuters news agency reported.
According to the agency, King Abdullah has held talks with the US Vice President Mike Pence in the capital city of Amman, reteirating the Jordan position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by saying that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The king went on by saying that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be only solved by two-state decision and urging Pence to “rebuild trust and confidence”, following US President Donald Trump’s controvercial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital, which sparked mass criticism around the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries.
As the king noted, the US resolution wasn’t a part of a “comprehensive settlement” of the conflict, saying that Washington has not a “major challenge to overcome”.
Pence, in his turn, responded to his words by saying that the US was “committed to restarting the peace process”.
The conversation took place amid the Israeli efforts to restore the diplomatic relations with Jordan, teetering after the killing of three Jordanians by Israeli guards and to reopen its embassy in Amman. Jordan is one of two Arab countries, along with Egypt, that have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Meanwhile, as the US Department of State has decribed the Washington’s plans concerning the issue on January 19, the decision on an interim facility to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem hadn’t been yet taken, what echoes Rex Tillerson’s explanations in mid-December that the embassy was likely to be relocated no earlier than 2020, or even later.