Jordanian foreign minister arrives in Ramallah for talks

By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday for talks with Palestinian officials.

Safadi arrived aboard a Jordanian helicopter from the capital Amman, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.

He will hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other officials on the latest Israeli escalation in occupied East Jerusalem as well as discussing coordination between Palestine and Jordan on all issues, the official Palestine TV reported.

The top Jordanian diplomat is scheduled to hold a press conference with Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s Executive Committee, before departing Ramallah, the broadcaster said.

Tension has been running high across the Palestinian territories in the wake of a controversial flag march by Israeli settlers through East Jerusalem and daily settler incursions into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat