The two foreign ministers are reportedly working toward restarting two-state negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
By David Isaac, World Israel News
The foreign ministers of Israel and Jordan met at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between their two countries to discuss economic, peace and other issues on Tuesday.
Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister of Jordan, reportedly urged a return to peace talks and a two-state solution.
Efforts to return to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have intensified since President Joe Biden’s election. Asharq Al-Awsat, a London-based Arabic paper, reported in January that talks between the foreign ministers of Jordan and Israel are part of that effort.
The Biden administration has signaled it wants to return to negotiations and supports a two-state solution.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry website tweeted a statement in English shortly after the meeting, saying:
“Today, it is necessary to resume serious and effective negotiations to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution that embodies the independent Palestinian state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital on the June 4, 1967 lines, to live in peace and security alongside Israel in accordance with international law and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
The two-state solution was moribund during the Trump years as the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas cut ties with the U.S. and refused to negotiate in the framework of the Trump administration’s ‘deal of the century’ after then President Donald Trump on Dec. 6, 2017 formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced he would move the U.S. Embassy there.
Gabi Ashkenazi, without alluding specifically to any discussion about the two-state solution, tweeted, “I visited Jordan today and met with my colleague, Jordanian Foreign Minister @AymanHsafadi.”
“We discussed the promotion of commercial, economic and civic cooperation between the countries as well as with the Palestinians, with an emphasis on trade, import and export, water, tourism and consular issues.”