Jordan-Palestine ties as strong as ever — Palestinian prime minister

AMMAN — A senior Palestinian official has said that the Jordanian-Palestinian ties are as strong as ever, “not being disturbed by anything”.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah made his remarks at a meeting on Saturday with Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, a rare encounter at this high level in months, amid reportedly lukewarm ties between Amman and Ramallah.

The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Ensour as saying that both sides “should not allow anything to disturb the brotherly and close ties between the two countries and people”.

Ensour, according to Petra, referred to developments that followed the FIFA elections, when the Palestinian Football Association chief Jibreel Rjoub reportedly voted against HRH Prince Ali and celebrated the win of his rival, Sepp Blatter, in a way seen provocative by Jordanians. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Prince Ali last week to explain the position of his authority.

During his meeting with Ensour, Petra said, Hamdallah expressed his “resentment” of what happened in the aftermath of the FIFA vote, stressing that it was a “passing summer cloud” that would not affect the relationship between the two peoples.

At the political level, Hamdallah said his visit came to coordinate with Jordan on “all issues of mutual concern”, voicing appreciation for Jordan’s stand on the Palestinian issue.

Reports have pointed to a crisis in Jordanian-Palestinian ties. 

During the May meetings of the World Economic Forum, Ensour expressed in remarks to the press his concerns over reported back-channel, Oslo-style negotiations between the Palestinian leadership and Israel, warning that any Palestinian state that would emerge from a possible deal would be “weak”.  

Hamdallah stressed during Saturday’s meeting that Palestinian leaders “always coordinate over everything with Jordan’s leadership and will always do so”.

He also affirmed Palestinians’ appreciations of the Hashemite custodianship of holy sites in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian premier highlighted the meetings of the higher joint committee, due this year in Amman, during which the two sides will discuss the setting up of “logistic zones” between the two countries and exchange trade fairs.