(AFP) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II held talks with US President Joe Biden at the White House Monday on resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict, as fears grow of an offensive in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
Flanked by US and Jordanian flags, Biden, 81, and the king embraced as they met on the front steps of the White House for their first face-to-face talks since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. They were accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden, Queen Rania and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein. Biden joked “everybody does” when asked if Benjamin Netanyahu was following his advice, after he warned the Israeli prime minister against a ground operation in crowded Rafah if Palestinian civilians could not be protected.
Amman is a key player in the region and the king has been vocal in calling for a permanent ceasefire. Biden has held off from supporting one, arguing that Israel needs time to defeat Hamas.
“I look forward to discussing deepening our strong relationship, and efforts to produce an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza,” Biden said of the meeting with Abdullah on X, formerly known as Twitter. The two heads of state are due to deliver remarks at 4:00 pm (2100 GMT).
Washington is the first stop of a tour by the Jordanian king that will also take in Canada, France and Germany, amid mounting international efforts for a deal to pause fighting in Gaza and free hostages held there by Hamas. The White House said Biden and Abdullah would discuss ways to find long-term solutions to the conflict in Gaza, which is increasingly spreading throughout the Middle East.
Three US troops were killed in a drone attack on a base in Jordan in January, triggering American airstrikes against Iranian-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria.
– ‘Enduring end’ –
Asked if Biden would accept King Abdullah’s calls for a ceasefire, National Security Council spokesman Kirby said that the United States had been “very consistent that we do not support a general ceasefire this time.” The visit comes as weeks of talks involving the United States and regional powers have so far failed to produce a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. It also comes as Biden takes a harder line with Israel.
Biden told Netanyahu on Sunday that a Rafah advance should not go ahead without a “credible” plan to ensure “the safety” of the around one million people sheltering there, the White House said. On Thursday, Biden also said Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip had been “over the top.”
The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel has responded with a relentless bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza that the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says has killed at least 28,340 people, mostly women and children.
Biden was meant to travel to Jordan for talks with Abdullah when he visited Israel less than two weeks after the initial attack, but the meeting was canceled after an explosion at a Gaza hospital caused anger across the Arab world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Abdullah in Amman in January. The Jordanian monarch urged the top diplomat to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and end the humanitarian crisis there. – Danny KEMP
