Israeli PM visited Jordan secretly, met King Abdullah
Amman (QNN)- Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Jordanian King Abdullah II met in secret last week at the crown palace in Amman, in the first meeting between the king and an Israeli prime minister in more than five years.
A former Israeli official told Axios that last week, Bennett took a secret trip to Jordan and met with King Abdullah II at his palace in Amman.
Israeli media reported that Bennett traveled to meet Abdullah last Tuesday, a day after he spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi.
News of the meeting came hours after Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, on the Jordanian side of the Allenby Bridge crossing.
The official told Axios that Bennett informed the king that he was prepared to approve a deal for the sale of water from ‘Israel’ to Jordan, an issue that had proved contentious under Netanyahu.
Both Bennett and Abdullah agreed to turn the page and resume normal dialogue, the official said.
According to Israeli Walla News, the meeting last week was largely positive, and Bennett informed Abdullah of Israel’s decision to boost water exports to Jordan.
There was a long period of tensions between Abdullah and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the last one was in March when Amman delayed approving Netanyahu’s flight path over the country to the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for the Jordanian crown prince’s canceled trip to Al-Aqsa mosque.
