Jerusalem ‘key to peace’: Jordan king, Abu Dhabi prince

Monitoring Desk

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have both stressed the importance of preserving Jerusalem’s legal and historical status.

The two leaders made the assertion at a Wednesday meeting in Abu Dhabi at which they also discussed bilateral relations and the latest regional developments.

According to Jordan’s official PETRA news agency, King Abdullah also stressed the need to “break the deadlock in the peace process and resume serious talks between the Palestinians and Israelis”.

Negotiations, he said, should be based on a “two-state solution” to the conflict, past UN resolutions, and the 2002 Arab peace initiative, which calls for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“Jerusalem,” both leaders asserted, “is the key to achieving peace in the region.”

On Dec. 6 of last year, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized the city as Israel’s capital, sparking condemnation and protest from across the region.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — occupied by Israel since 1967 — might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

With regard to the region’s current political situation, the two men urged their fellow Arab leaders to step up efforts to reach political solutions “with a view to restoring security and stability for all the people of the Middle East”.

Bin Zayed, for his part, described Jordan as a “key partner” of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (of which the UAE is a member), “especially in terms of current challenges to the region’s security, stability and coexistence”.

“Jordan plays a vital regional role, especially in terms of the peace process, the Palestine issue and the war on terrorism,” he added, according to PETRA.

Accompanied by his wife, Queen Rania, King Abdullah II arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for an official visit to the UAE.

His arrival to Abu Dhabi coincided with the departure of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who paid a brief visit to the UAE on Tuesday and Wednesday.