Abbas meets with Jordanian king to plan response to Trump

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met on Thursday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman in order to coordinate a response to US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital a day earlier.

Trump broke with decades of US and international policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and said he had directed the US State Department to begin the process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as required by US law.

Trump maintained that his decision would not influence the city’s geographic and political borders, which will still be determined by Israel and the Palestinians.

Israeli leaders hailed the move, while much of the international community denounced it.

The official PA news site Wafa reported that Abbas informed the Jordanian king “of the latest developments regarding Jerusalem, the dangers facing it… the future mechanism to protect the holy city and support our people there.”

Abdullah, according to a report in the official Jordanian news agency Petra, said that “the international community must shoulder its responsibility by taking firm and supportive decision to achieve peace and solve the Palestinian issue.”

Abbas said on Wednesday he was calling an “emergency meeting” of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Committee to create a “unified national position” and put “all options before it.”

Jordan is slated to host a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers on Saturday in order to “coordinate Arab and Islamic stances” over Trump’s decision.

Jordan’s leader is close with Abbas, and the Hashemite Kingdom is considered the guardian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, according to both Arab and Israeli understandings.

Accompanying Abbas in the meeting in Amman was top PA negotiator Saeb Erekat; PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein Sheikh; and the head of the PA’s intelligence services, Majid Faraj.

Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein also attended the meeting.