AMMAN – Jordan’s King Abdullah II yesterday received a telephone call from new Israeli President Isaac Herzog in which they discussed Middle East peace efforts, reported the state-run Petra news agency.
Abdullah “stressed the importance of working towards a just and comprehensive peace” between Israel and the Palestinians “on the basis of the two-state solution”.
The king of Jordan, where around half its 10 million-strong population is of Palestinian origin, told Herzog that the path to lasting peace in the region is the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Herzog, who was sworn in as president on Wednesday, tweeted that he stressed “the importance of the strategic relations between our countries”.
“I told His Majesty that I intend to work on strengthening ties.”
The call comes two days after Israel and Jordan reached a deal for the Jewish state to sell an unprecedented amount of water to the parched kingdom, while significantly boosting Jordanian exports to Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The two countries announced yesterday that Israel will sell 50 million cubic metres of water.
Herzog’s office in a statement said Abdullah “expressed his satisfaction after the return of the diplomatic ties between the two countries to their correct path”.
The president was quoted as saying he wants to strengthen economic and tourism ties between the countries.
Relations between Jordan and Israel, which have a 1994 peace treaty, grew strained under former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier this year, he was barred from using Jordanian airspace, thwarting what was supposed to be his first-ever trip to the United Arab Emirates.
Netanyahu was replaced last month by Naftali Bennett, whose coalition has set warming ties with Amman as a foreign policy priority.
Jordan is one of the world’s most water-deficient countries, and experts said it has been grappling with one of the most severe droughts in its history. – AFP, July 11, 2021
