Jordan’s statesmanship asserted

The talks His Majesty King Abdullah held in Amman on Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were successful, attesting to the King’s diplomatic skills and the Kingdom’s important role in many issues pertaining to Palestine.

The King invited the Israeli and US officials to Amman in an attempt to de-escalate the crisis surrounding the Haram Al Sharif compound where provocative Israeli actions could incite more violence.

Israeli policies in Jerusalem, particularly in regard to Al Aqsa Mosque, have been confrontational, showing disregard to the religious sensitivities of the Palestinians and to international law, which declares Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem illegal.

As a result of the Amman talks, Netanyahu “reasserted Israel’s commitment to keep the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites without change… and respect Jordan’s Hashemite leaders’ historical role as custodians of holy sites in Jerusalem”.

Moreover, Netanyahu took the extra step, under pressure no doubt, to allow Muslim worshippers of all ages to pray at Al Aqsa on Fridays.

These steps are welcome, but they need to be part of comprehensive peace talks, for, in the absence of peace, the situation in Palestine will forever be volatile and dangerous.

The King said recently that there can be no solution other than the two-state solution.

Short of that, the cycle of violence will continue and both Israelis and Palestinians will suffer.

One hopes Netanyahu will honour this time the commitments he made in the presence of the King and the US secretary of state.

Surely he knows, as do most Israelis, that Palestinians will not disappear overnight, that the situation as is now is a recipe for violence, that international law must be respected and that in the absence of peace, Israelis will suffer alongside Palestinians.