Jordan’s king to reportedly meet Abbas in Ramallah

Jordan’s King Abdullah will visit Ramallah sometime in the next two weeks, Haaretz reports, citing a senior Palestinian official.

Abdullah will meet PA President Mahmoud Abbas during the visit, which will take place either next week or sometime before April 2, according to the report.

The visit by the Jordanian royal will be his first since 2017. It was first reported by Kan.

According to the reports, Abdullah will look to use the visit to keep tensions from boiling over, with Ramadan on the horizon. Officials in Israel and the US have warned of possible violence around the holy month, which begins in early April, when zealous fervor is often raised. The holiday will also overlap with Passover, which can add to tensions as masses of Jews visit Jerusalem’s Old City for the holiday.

Palestinians are also hoping the visit will help push their plight back onto the political agendas of Israel and the US.

“The king’s presence is mainly for support, a significant ‘strong player’ matching up against Israel and the US, even if the White House and Prime Minister’s Office in Israel present the Palestinian diplomatic portfolio as if it is frozen,” a Palestinian official is quoted saying.