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Jordan's King Abdullah in West Bank for talks with Abbas
King Abdullah of Jordan (L) speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a welcoming ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah 21 November 2011. (Photo - REUTERS - Mohamad Torokman)
Jordan's King Abdullah II arrived in a rare visit to the West Bank on Monday to hold talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abdullah's visit, the first in more than a decade, comes shortly before Abbas is scheduled to fly to Cairo to finalize a stalled unity deal with Hamas.
The deal, strongly opposed by Israel and the US, was signed between the two parties in May to form an interim government that would pave the way for presidential and legislative elections within a year.
The interim government was never formed, however, as both sides could not agree on cabinet positions.
Abbas reportedly sought to keep the current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in his position, which was strongly opposed by Hamas.
Egyptian mediation appears to have resolved their differences, with a unity government to be announced in Cairo following Abbas' meeting with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mishal.
The Jordanian king's visit, a key US ally, is an important show of support for Abbas, who is under intense pressure from the US and Israel to drop the Palestine bid for UN membership, as well as scrap reconciliation efforts with Hamas.
"We consider this visit an important part of King Abdullah's support for president Abbas on the direction of Palestinian policy as well as for the Palestinian people, particularly under the current circumstances," a senior Palestinian official said.
An Israeli official said they were not informed of Abdullah's West Bank visit.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, one of two Arab states to have normalized ties with the Jewish state.
Israel has maintained an illegal military occupation of the West Bank since 1967.
(al-Akhbar, AFP)
Abu Zuhri: Fatah backtracked on its insistence on Fayyad
Abdullah's visit, the first in more than a decade, comes shortly before Abbas is scheduled to fly to Cairo to finalize a stalled unity deal with Hamas.
The deal, strongly opposed by Israel and the US, was signed between the two parties in May to form an interim government that would pave the way for presidential and legislative elections within a year.
The interim government was never formed, however, as both sides could not agree on cabinet positions.
Abbas reportedly sought to keep the current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in his position, which was strongly opposed by Hamas.
Egyptian mediation appears to have resolved their differences, with a unity government to be announced in Cairo following Abbas' meeting with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mishal.
The Jordanian king's visit, a key US ally, is an important show of support for Abbas, who is under intense pressure from the US and Israel to drop the Palestine bid for UN membership, as well as scrap reconciliation efforts with Hamas.
"We consider this visit an important part of King Abdullah's support for president Abbas on the direction of Palestinian policy as well as for the Palestinian people, particularly under the current circumstances," a senior Palestinian official said.
An Israeli official said they were not informed of Abdullah's West Bank visit.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, one of two Arab states to have normalized ties with the Jewish state.
Israel has maintained an illegal military occupation of the West Bank since 1967.
(al-Akhbar, AFP)
Abu Zuhri: Fatah backtracked on its insistence on Fayyad
Uprooted Palestinian
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