Neighborly visit from Jordan

TEL AVIV - Jordan's King Abdullah is planning to visit Israel shortly, Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez told a delegation of Israeli-Arab Knesset members visiting Amman. The king is also set to visit the Palestinian Authority during his visit. Sources in Jerusalem confirmed there have been talks to coordinate a visit, but said a date has not yet been set. The planned trip would mark the second official visit by King Abdullah to Israel. In August of 2000 Abdullah made a quick three-and-a-half-hour visit to Israel to attend a memorial service for late Prime Mister Yitzhak Rabin. King condems suicide bombing During the meeting with the delegation in Amman, Abdullah condemned the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv Friday. The king said violence must remain outside of the political lexicon, and added the solution only lies in negotiations. "We must be sensitive to the suffering of the Jewish people and also to the suffering of the Palestinian people. Peace is the real security and that's a common interest for both peoples," Abdullah said. Abdullah met with Knesset Members Talab al-Sana and Abdulmalik Dehamshe from the United Arab List, Ahmad Tibi and Wasil Taha from the Hadash ta'al party, Jamal Zahalka from the National Democratic Assembly, and Labor party member Raleb Majadele. The Jordanian delegation included Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki, the information minister and ambassador to Israel Marouf al-Bakhit. Tibi said the king regards the coming two years as a period in which a Palestinian state should be established. "He said he is optimistic after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and will do everything in his power to realize the vision of peace. He also said that in two weeks he would meet with U.S. President George Bush in a bid to push the peace process forward," Tibi said. According to al-Sana, Abdullah also said peace between Israel and the Palestinians constitutes a good foundation but is not sufficient. "He explained that action should also be taken on the Syrian track to jumpstart the peace process between Syria and Israel," al-Sana said. Over the weekend, rumors were rife that secret talks were being held between Israel and Syria in the Jordanian capital. Al-Sana said he was not surprised by the report. Members of the Israeli delegation thanked Abdullah for his peace efforts and for returning the Jordanian ambassador to Israel recently. Delegation presents king with list of requests The delegation also asked to increase the quota of pilgrims traveling to Mecca via Jordan, and to lower the Jordanian tax imposed on travellers," said al-Sana. "We also asked the king to increase the number of scholarships granted to Arab students studying in Jordan and to award scholarships for more advanced studies. The king promised to accept the requests," he said.

Neighborly visit from Jordan

King Abdullah to visit Israel, Jordanian prime minister informs Israeli-Arab delegation visiting Amman; king condemns Tel Aviv bombing, says he is optimstic