According to the news service of the Kan media corporation, next week King Abdullah II of Jordan will visit Ramallah, where he will meet with the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas is currently on an official visit to Germany but is expected to return to the PA at the end of the week.
The Kan-11 TV channel reported that the purpose of the visit of the Jordanian monarch is to prevent a possible escalation of tension during Ramadan, which is 11 days away. Abdullah II spoke about his concern about the situation with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid during the latter’s visit to Amman a week and a half ago.
Two Palestinian Authority sources told the Kan 11 news service that Ramallah has no interest in escalating tensions, but “Israel is pushing for it.” In Ramallah, they say that “Israel calls for ‘calm down’, but for its part does not take any action to reduce tension.”
Another source in Ramallah told Israeli reporters that if Israel wants to avoid clashes, it should ban Jews from climbing the Temple Mount during Ramadan, with no exceptions for Passover or Shabbat. The TV channel reported that, apparently, this proposal will also be voiced by the Palestinian side during the visit of the Jordanian monarch.
The last time Abdullah II visited Ramallah was about five years ago.