Abdullah, Abbas Meet in Jordan to Discuss Yerushalayim ‘Escalation’

Jordan’s King Abdullah hosted Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Amman on Wednesday against the backdrop of rising tensions between Israelis and the Palestinians.

According to Abbas’s office, the two discussed the clashes in Yerushalayim, an event they called “Israeli escalation,” as well as “ways to defend Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites.”

Palestinian news outlet Wafa reported that Abbas “reiterated the need to put pressure on the Israeli government to halt its occupation’s unilateral measures [and] respect the signed agreements.”

A statement by the Jordanian Royal Court said Abdullah called on the international community “to restore calm in the Holy City, and to prevent the recurring attacks against Islamic and Christian holy sites and the people there.”

He further noted that Jordan stepped up coordination with various countries to prevent escalation in the Al-Aqsa compound.

Jodan was afforded control of the Islamic Waqf – an Islamic religious trust that controls and manages the Islamic edifices on and around the Temple Mount, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock – as part of its peace treaty with Israel.