TEHRAN, January 21 - Jordan's King Abdullah voiced concern on Sunday over a decision by Washington to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's ‘capital’, saying Jerusalem al-Quds had to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - In remarks during talks with U.S. Vice Mike Pence in Amman, the king said the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a two-state one, Reuters reported.
"The U.S. decision on Jerusalem ...does not come as a result of a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the monarch told Pence at the start of the talks in the royal palace.
Pence was in Amman on the second leg of a three-country tour that concludes in occupied Palestinian lands.
In comments delivered in Egypt, he said Washington would support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians if the two sides agreed to it.
Last month's endorsement of Israel’s claim to Jerusalem al-Quds as its ‘capital’ by US President Donald Trump drew universal condemnation from Arab leaders and widespread criticism elsewhere.
It also broke with decades of U.S. policy that the city’s status must be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of their future state.
Pence told the king that Washington was committed to preserving the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
"We take no decision on boundaries and final status, those are subject to negotiation," he said.
Pence's is the highest-level visit by a U.S. official to the region since Trump made his declaration on Jerusalem al-Quds last month.
Jordanian officials fear Washington's move on Jerusalem al-Quds had also wrecked chances of a resumption of Arab-Israeli peace talks which the monarch had sought to revive.
King Abdullah said the U.S. move on Jerusalem al-Quds would fuel radicalism and inflame Muslim and Christian tensions, Reuters reported.
"For us, Jerusalem is key to Muslims and Christians, as it is to Jews. It is key to peace in the region," he said.
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