RAMALLAH, West Bank, 14 May 2007 — Jordan’s King Abdallah yesterday called off what was to have been a rare visit to the West Bank, citing low clouds and visibility that hampered his planned helicopter flight.
The king will reschedule his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in coming days, said an Abbas aide, Nabil Abu Rudeina.
The trip, the monarch’s first to the West Bank in seven years, had been intended to promote an Arab peace plan and show support for Abbas.
In recent weeks, the king stepped up efforts to push the peace plan, which offers Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for a withdrawal from the territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. Abdallah has warned repeatedly that time is running out for reaching a peace deal.
The king also appears increasingly concerned about fighting between political rivals Fatah and Hamas in the Palestinian territories, which erupted again in recent days. In Gaza, two Fatah-allied gunmen, including a local commander, were killed yesterday in what Fatah said was a Hamas ambush. Abbas, his aides and journalists were waiting at Abbas’ walled headquarters for nearly five hours when they were informed about the cancellation. At one point, a Jordanian helicopter with journalists and royal aides arrived.
“There were several attempts to fly, but we couldn’t because of bad weather, the low clouds hampering visibility in Ramallah,” a royal palace official said on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to make statements to the press. “We are in touch with the Palestinian side to reschedule another meeting in the earliest possible time,” he added. He said that no time has yet been fixed.
Today, the king is to meet with US Vice President Dick Cheney, who is touring the region, followed by talks in Jordan on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Abdallah has been calling for quick movement on the Arab peace initiative which was first launched in 2002 and revived at the Arab summit in Riyadh earlier this year. The Palestinians have embraced the plan, which calls for a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees.
Israel has not rejected the proposal, but has expressed reservations about key points, including a full withdrawal to the 1967 borders. Successive Israeli leaders have rejected such a pullback.
