AMMAN (VINnews) — Jordan’s King Abdullah has reiterated his warning that Israel’s planned move to annex parts of Judea and Samaria next month will threaten Middle East stability. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to extend sovereignty to Jewish settlements in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, territory which Israel captured from Jordan in the Six Day War and which Palestinians still seek for a state.
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In a video conference with US congressional leaders and committees, Abdullah warned that “any unilateral Israeli measure to annex lands in the West Bank is unacceptable and undermines the prospects of achieving peace and stability in the region,” according to a statement by the Jordanian royal palace Wednesday.
However UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash was more sanguine about cooperation with Israel. In a historic conversation with the AJC conference Tuesday during its Virtual Global Forum 2020, Gargash said that the UAE can work with Israel on some areas including fighting the new coronavirus and on technology, while still having political differences. Gargash advocated for open lines of communication with Israel, despite the policy disagreements, stating that “Sixty and seventy years have shown that…. not having these lines has only radicalised the region.”
Gargash added that it is “natural” for the UAE to invite Israel to the Expo2020 at Dubai stressing that “we can’t send messages of tolerance and hope and then say, we’re not inviting this country. So it was logical for us to invite Israel. We’re decoupling the political from the non-political.”