Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to meet in Amman on Thursday, PA presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh announced on Wednesday.
The two are expected to discuss ways of reviving the peace process between the Palestinians and Israel and current tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Palestinian sources said.
The sources said Abbas was planning to complain to Kerry about Israel’s actions in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The Palestinian leader holds Israel fully responsible for the current tensions and upsurge in violence because of its ongoing provocations and assaults on the Aqsa Mosque, the sources added.
Abbas, the sources continued, will also make it clear during the meeting that he is determined to proceed with his statement bid at the United Nations Security Council. Abbas said recently that he would seek a Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines this month.
Earlier, Abbas met in Amman with Jordan’s King Abdullah and discussed with him the tensions at the Temple Mount.
Abbas said in a TV interview that he considers Jordan to be a “major partner on the Jerusalem issue.” He said that Jordan has enjoyed the status of guardian over the holy sites in the city.
King Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s support for efforts to achieve peace and resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Jordanian Petra news agency reported.
It said that the monarch also reiterated that Israel’s “repeated aggressions, provocative actions in Jerusalem and targeting of holy sites, especially the Aqsa Mosque, were utterly condemnable.” He also warned that the continuation of the settlement policy will undermine all efforts to revive the peace process.
