Jordan’s King Abdullah turned down requests from Netanyahu to meet — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reached out several times recently to Jordan’s King Abdullah in an attempt to arrange a meeting between the leaders, but was turned down, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

At least one of the attempts was made before the outbreak of the current war with Iran.

According to Kan, one of the reasons given by Jordan is that the king will not consider a meeting with Netanyahu while Al Aqsa mosque is closed. Jordan considers itself the custodian of the site in Jerusalem’s Old City, which has been closed due to the missile threat from Iran. Israel only recognizes Jordan’s “special role” at the site.

Israel was attempting to signal to the White House that Jerusalem is maintaining cordial relations with Amman, another US ally.

In response to Israel’s outreach, says Kan, the Jordanians demanded that Israel deal with settler violence, ease restrictions on Muslim worshippers on the Temple Mount, where Al Aqsa is located, sign a new water agreement, allow more types of aid into Gaza, and give answers on the future of the Palestinian question, but were not satisfied with Israel’s answers.