Jordan’s FM Visits Palestinians Amid Annexation Plan

The Jordanian foreign minister made an unannounced visit to Ramallah on Thursday to “convey a message” to the Palestinian leader, against the backdrop of Israel’s plans to annex parts of the territory.

Both Jordan and the Palestinians strongly object to the Israeli plan and have been lobbying against it. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry says Ayman al-Safadi’s visit to Ramallah “comes within the framework of continuous coordination and consultation” between them on the issue.

It comes a day after a senior Emirati official warned that Israel’s planned annexation could lead Arab states to call for a single binational state for Israelis and Palestinians, rather than their traditional call for a two-state solution.

Backed by a friendly Trump administration, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed to annex Jewish communities in Yehudah, Shomron and the Jordan Valley. Such a unilateral move would all but dash Palestinian hopes of establishing a viable independent state.

Jordan, which is one of just two Arab nations to have made peace with Israel, has been particularly alarmed.

This week Jordan’s King Abdullah II expressed his concerns to American leadership, warning that any unilateral Israeli measure in Yehudah and Shomron would be unacceptable and “undermine the prospects of achieving peace and stability in the region,” according to a statement from his royal court.