Peres holds secret meeting with Jordan's king

President visits Jordan in backdrop of tense relations between Jerusalem, Amman, country's official news agency reports

Elior Levy|Published: 11.28.11 , 14:43

President Shimon Peres held a secret visit to Jordan and met on Monday, the Jordanian official news agency report. The President's Residence has yet to comment on the matter.

According to the report, Peres and Abdullah discussed the resumption of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. The king apparently briefed Peres on his visit to Ramallah last week.

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The Petra news agency also reported that the king stressed that Israel must stop unilateral steps against the Palestinians, particularly the settlement construction. He added that Israel must avoid changing Jerusalem's character and hurting Muslim and Christian sites in the city. Peres, on his part presented Abdullah with the steps Israel can take to build an atmosphere of trust with the PA.

King Abdullah II (Photo: Reuters)

Israel-Jordan relations have experienced a crisis in the past two years. King Abdullah slammed Israeli policies on several occasions and even declared that North Korea's global standing was better than Israel's. In a meeting with Jordanian intellectuals last September he declared that "Jordan and Palestine's future are stronger than Israel."

He voiced concerns over the possibility that Jordan will be regarded as the Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday addressed the possibility that Hamas' politburo will move from Damascus to Jordan. "It won't necessarily happen," he said. "Jordan knows the significance of having Hamas operating in it."