Jordan’s Abdullah to US official: Must ‘step up efforts’ to bring Israeli-Palestinian calm

Jordan’s King Abdullah tells a visiting US official that further efforts are needed to bring calm to the region amid an uptick in violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

Abdullah “highlighted the need to step up efforts toward calm and de-escalation in the Palestinian Territories” to White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, according to a statement from the Jordanian government.

McGurk is in Jordan to attend an Israeli-Palestinian security summit in Aqaba. Israel has sent National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to participate in the meeting.

Abdullah also called “to cease any unilateral measures that could lead to instability and undermine peace prospects,” and to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Amman says.