King Abdullah of Jordan arrives in West Bank

King Abdullah of Jordan arrives in West Bank
King Abdullah II of Jordan arrived Monday in the West Bank city of Ramallah on a sudden visit and was greeted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The king's helicopter landed in the Palestinian presidential headquarters where Abbas, other senior Palestinian officials and the honor guard welcomed the king on his first visit to the Palestinian territories since 1999.

A Palestine Liberation Organization official on Sunday revealed the sudden visit, which comes a year after the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled due to differences on Jewish settlements building in the West Bank.

The king is expected to talk with Abbas on efforts to revive peace negotiations and the seemingly unfruitful Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership, he said.

They will also discuss tensions between Washington and the Palestinians over the UN bid and Abbas' plans to reconcile with Hamas, which ousted his forces and took over Gaza in 2007, he added.

The king's visit comes ahead of a planned meeting between Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, the head of the Islamic Hamas movement, on pushing forward national reconciliation that Cairo brokered in May.

English.news.cn   2011-11-21 17:40:06 FeedbackPrintRSS
RAMALLAH, Nov. 21 (Xinhua)