AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah told US President Donald Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday that a lasting Middle East peace can only come with the creation of a Palestinian state on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war and with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Kushner is leading a US delegation to the Middle East this week seeking support for a late June workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians, a White House official said on Tuesday.
A palace statement said the king, who aides say has been deeply concerned about the still-secret US plan to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, told Kushner Israel had to withdraw from the West Bank that was under Jordanian control which Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
“His Majesty stressed the need for a comprehensive and lasting peace based on a two-state solution, leading to an independent Palestinian state on 4 June 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital,” the palace statement said.
Jordan is worried the plan could jettison the two-state solution — the long-standing US and international formula that envisages an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.
US officials have said the trip, which began in Rabat and will include Jerusalem, was to bolster support for a June 25-26 conference in Bahrain, in which Kushner is to unveil the first part of Trump’s long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The plan, touted by Trump as the “deal of the century,” is to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict.
In Morocco, Kushner met King Mohammed VI on Tuesday in Rabat as part of a fresh peace push.
Kushner is accompanied by Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s special representative for international negotiations, and Brian Hook, the special US representative for Iran.
The meeting in Rabat focused on developments in the Middle East and North Africa as well as strengthening the partnership between Morocco and the US, a palace spokesman said.
Greenblatt tweeted that he and Kushner shared an iftar dinner with Morocco’s king, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
“Thank you to His Majesty for a special evening and for sharing your wisdom,” Greenblatt wrote. “Morocco is an important friend & ally of the United States.”
The Trump administration is expected to unveil the peace plan — after numerous failures by its predecessors — possibly as early as next month, but the Palestinians have already rejected it as heavily biased in favour of Israel. — Reuters/AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
