Lapid, Jordan’s King Abdullah discuss ties, upcoming Biden trip in phone call

Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke by phone with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Saturday night, his office announced, to discuss the need for increased cooperation between the two countries and the upcoming trip to the region this week of US President Joe Biden

According to a statement released by his office, Lapid wished the king and Jordan’s citizens a happy Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday that marks the culmination of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and offered his condolences over a deadly gas leak in Jordan’s southern port city of Aqaba.

“King Abdullah congratulated Prime Minister Lapid on taking office and wished him success,” the statement read.

During their call, the two “discussed the need to strengthen and deepen cooperation and relations between Israel and Jordan” as well as Biden’s upcoming visit and “regional challenges and opportunities,” Lapid’s office said.

The US president is expected in Israel on Wednesday to begin a two-day visit before flying directly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to attend the GCC+3 summit on Saturday with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, along with Iraq, Egypt and Jordan.

Biden laid out his plans for the upcoming trip on Saturday in an opinion article for the Washington Post, and noted that the direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia, countries that currently have no formal ties, marked a “small symbol” of the warming relations between Israel and the Arab world and “steps toward normalization.”

During the visit, Biden is also set to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, where is expected to announce a package of steps aimed at strengthening the PA, a senior US official told The Times of Israel Wednesday in a conversation about Biden’s itinerary.

On Friday, Lapid and Abbas spoke by phone, in what is believed to be the first direct call between an Israeli prime minister and the PA chief in five years.

The phone conversation was part of a round of calls Lapid was making to offer Muslim leaders his best wishes ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday Saturday.

The calls also offered a chance for the prime minister to discuss Biden’s trip with regional leaders this week.

Lapid and Abbas spoke about “the continuation of cooperation, and the need to ensure quiet and calm,” according to Lapid’s office.

On Tuesday in Paris, Lapid told reporters that while he would not rule out the possibility of a meeting with Abbas, there were currently no immediate plans for talks to take place. His predecessor, Naftali Bennett, ruled out any such meeting and did not speak to Abbas directly while in office.

“I do not have meetings for the sake of meetings unless they have a positive result for Israel. At the moment it is not on the agenda, but I do not rule it out,” Lapid said in a briefing at Israel’s embassy in Paris.

An Israeli source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that the Biden administration had been pushing for the call to take place and are also proposing that Lapid green-light a meeting between President Isaac Herzog and Abbas.

Herzog also called the PA president Friday to offer him and the Palestinian people a happy Eid al-Adha, and to discuss Biden’s visit.

Abbas also met Thursday night with Defense Minister Benny Gantz in Ramallah to discuss security coordination ahead of Biden’s trip. According to Gantz’s office, the meeting “was conducted on positive terms,” and they “agreed to continue security coordination and to avoid unilateral measures.”