Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, conducted a short, unannounced, trip to Jordan on Tuesday afternoon, and held a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. The two leaders held talks on the efforts to advance the stalled peace process with the Palestinians, and the bilateral relations between Israel and Jordan. The Jordanian News Agency reported that the two leaders held talks on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and on the two-state solution in addition to the efforts to resume direct and serious peace talks that would tackle final-status issues.
Netanyahu left Jordan directly after his meeting with King Abdullah and returned to Tel Aviv.
He described the meeting as “very good” and stated that the talks were focused on the means to resume the peace process with the Palestinians.
During a speech in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that Israel wants to ensure that missiles and rocket launchers never make it into territories Israel evacuates under any peace agreement.
His statements came during a graduation ceremony for the “National Security College” at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.
The Israeli PM said that Israel must be able to defend itself under all circumstances, and that “any Iranian forces or forces that allies itself with Tehran must not exist in the Gaza Strip or near the northern borders of Israel”.
On Tuesday evening, King Abdullah of Jordan phoned his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, and informed him on his talks with Netanyahu.
The United States is also pushing towards starting direct Palestinian-Israeli talks.
On Tuesday at night, French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, phoned Netanyahu and Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and urged them to start direct final-status talks.
Sarkozy also called on Israel to renew its settlement freeze order ,and to refrain from any unilateral acts in Jerusalem.
Israel refuses to hold talks on borders, Jerusalem and the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees. It is also ongoing with its violations against the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and is ongoing with its home-demolition policies in the city.
The Israeli government believes it has the right to build Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem as it considered the city as its eternal unified capital.
Jerusalem, as well as the Palestinian territories, were illegally captured by Israel during the 1967 six-day war.
All international resolutions regarding Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories apply to Jerusalem as well. Settlements are also illegal under international law.
